M. Ann Tutwiler writes about cultivating a healthy food system for Devex

In light of tomorrow’s upcoming CGIAR Development Dialogues event, M. Ann Tutwiler writes for Devex about taking a fresh look at complex global challenges.

Experts brought together for the CGIAR Development Dialogues event – a first for CGIAR, a global research partnership comprised of 15 international research centers – will address the fundamental role of agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, landscapes and food systems in achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to achieve these new goals, we have to deliver integrated solutions to social, environmental and economic development challenges worldwide.

The way we rethink – or revamp – our food system for the 21st century is a huge part of this, writes M. Ann Tutwiler who recently celebrated her first year as Director General of Bioversity International, a CGIAR research center. "No effort toward achieving food and nutrition security will be comprehensive without squarely placing environmental sustainability as its prerequisite: healthy environments are the foundation of sustainable food systems."

M. Ann Tutwiler is a firm believer in an integrated landscapes or systems-based approach – "one that considers the diverse interactions and connections within an agricultural landscape that contribute to improved well-being and healthier, more resilient ecosystems."

In her blog 'Cultivating a healthy food system', M. Ann Tutwiler underlines the positive links between health, agriculture and the environment and says that they are here to stay for the post-2015 development agenda. She proposes that "the SDGs must not be considered as individual and distinct goals, but that the specific interaction between goals must be highlighted, emphasizing environmental sustainability as a means to achieving goals of reducing poverty, eliminating hunger and providing nutritious and diversified diets."

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Photo: Handful of potatoes from Karwe Village (Makengi) in Kenya. Credit: P. Casier (Flickr)