In 2022, it was estimated that between 690 and 780 million people were suffering from hunger, and that 2.4 billion people did not have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Furthermore, the industrialisation of our food systems has contributed to significant degradation of land, water and ecosystems, generating high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and causing considerable biodiversity loss.

Finally, our food systems are marked by profound socio-economic disparities as power is more and more concentrated in a few large companies while the situation of the 2.3 billion small-scale farmers who depend on them for their livelihoods is increasingly dire.

Priorities

Enabel supports the transition to sustainable food systems by working on food production, processing, distribution and consumption. The aim is to guarantee food and nutritional security for all, while taking account of the environmental, climatic and socio-economic challenges.

Our action is developed around four priorities:

Sustainable and resilient agriculture: We are strengthening the capacity of food systems to withstand climatic, health and socio-economic shocks and stresses. Enabel supports stakeholders (producers, farmers, local communities and cooperatives) in their agro-ecological transition, to optimise interactions between plants, animals and people.
We are helping to make agri-food chains more sustainable by limiting losses, promoting renewable energies and supporting the relocation of food systems, i.e. bringing production and consumption closer together to encourage local or regional purchasing and consumption.

Inclusive agri-food chains that create jobs: We promote the creation of decent jobs, particularly for small producers, young people, rural women and displaced people.
To ensure fairer trade relations, Enabel strengthens producer organisations and links between players in the agri-food chain – producers, processors, traders, distributors and workers in the sector – and supports access to high-quality technical and financial services. Finally, we are improving the governance of labour markets by promoting social protection schemes and decent work standards.

Healthy and safe food: We are helping to eradicate hunger and malnutrition through our efforts in food production, processing, distribution and consumption. Enabel works to create healthier food environments by promoting not only production but also consumer access to nutritious, healthy food.
Enabel also supports rigorous certification systems and runs awareness-raising campaigns aimed at the most vulnerable sections of the population on the benefits of a balanced diet and the promotion of good hygiene practices.

Fostering institutional framework: We support national and regional authorities in drawing up policies and regulations tailored to a sustainable transition. Innovation and science play a central role in this policy dialogue:

Services

We work at various levels with our international partners, offering them comprehensive, customised solutions:

Training and technical support:

• Support for agricultural extension and the agro-ecological transition via advisory and demonstration services
• Vocational training in agro-ecology and agri-food processing
• Setting up and supporting educational vegetable gardens

Support for entrepreneurship and MSMEs:

• Incubation and acceleration of start-ups and MSMEs in the green and circular economy
• Support to the creation of local value chains
• Facilitating co-investments with private companies in the agri-food sector

Support for governance and public policy:

• Institutional capacity-building to develop sustainable food policies
• Creation of technical working groups bringing together the various players in the value chain (producers, processors, distributors, consumer organisations, local authorities, research institutes, NGOs, private sector)
• Support for food safety certification mechanisms

Research and innovation:

• Support for collaborative research-action projects between Belgian and African universities covering a wide range of disciplines related to sustainable food systems
• Setting up and supporting innovation labs