Session: Cities host over half the world’s population and therefore have a strategic role to play in developing sustainable food systems and promoting healthy diets. The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact was therefore established to support cities to strengthen this role and Arusha City Council is a signatory. Rikolto will present the progress made to date on this initiative including the research on food safety which highlights the critical need to establish market incentives that support transitions to more sustainable and safe practices at farm and trader levels.
Biographical information: Mark Blackett is the East Africa Regional Director for Rikolto. Rikolto, formerly known as VECO, has been working in the East African Region for over 40 years and specializes in inclusive agribusiness development. Mark has worked for both private and public sector organizations and over 15 years experience within the East Africa Region. Mark is a Board Member for the Agribusiness Market Ecosystems Alliance (AMEA) and leads the Rikolto Global Rice Strategy team. Mark’s current work focuses on supporting country, regional and global teams to develop and implement food system change strategies with a particular focus on horticulture, rice and pulse market chains. This work includes pilots under the Sustainable Rice Platform and the Arusha Food Policy Initiative.