Abstract:
Everyone seems to agree that our food systems are failing us and that changes are necessary in order to achieve more sustainable, inclusive food systems. There also seems to be an agreement that handling food systems issues through a systematic
approach instead of a siloed one could enable better food systems outcomes, including
improved nutrition and health. As a result of this realisation, many conceptualisations of
the food systems approach have emerged and key actors have been increasingly
embracing this approach. However, although food systems governance arrangements
will play a critical role in stimulating or hindering transformations, this area has been
under-researched and there have only been a few conceptualisations of food systems
governance to date.
This thesis contributed towards addressing this research gap through providing an indepth
empirical application of the combination of
a
food
systems
governance
framework
consisting
of
five
governance
principles
and
a
framework
consisting
of
five
governance
capabilities
to a
unique
governance
arrangement in
Ethiopia—The
Seqota
Declaration—that
is
committed
to
ending
stunting in
children
under
two
by
2030.
The aim of this thesis was to diagnose the Seqota Declaration initiative against the key
principles appropriate for food systems governance and explore the presence or
absence of governance capabilities necessary for achieving progress during the
implementation of the initiative. The results confirm the prevalence of the five
principles and capabilities in the initiative and the stakeholders driving it, albeit to
varying levels.
Overall, the efforts appear promising, but they do face a number of limitations that
could jeopardise successes in the implementation of the initiative. Whilst resource
constraint has been identified as a major hindrance to progress, what is being done with
the resources that are available should also be taken into account. This thesis outlines
some of the areas where governance issues may hinder progress. The strengths of the
initiative include the presence of systems-thinking, a high number of enabling
structures for improved collaboration, a high level of innovations, and strong ownership
by government stakeholders across the different scales and sectors. However, system
dynamics are given less consideration, human capital to fill the new structures is not
there, long-term sustainability may be questionable, and there is space for
improvement for third sector and private sector inclusion.
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