Understanding Food Systems: What You Need to Know

By TechnoServe

In this post, we’ll explore the food system’s essential components, its challenges, and how innovative solutions can shape a more sustainable future.

Food systems are networks that connect all processes involved in feeding the global population. From agricultural production to consumption, the food system plays a pivotal role in global sustainability, food security, and economic development. 

Understanding and strengthening food systems is critical as challenges like climate change, food waste, malnutrition, and inefficiencies in supply chains grow. 

What is a Food System?

A food system encompasses every aspect of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. It includes all the activities, people, and resources involved in feeding the global population. Around the world, an estimated 4.5 billion people rely on food systems for their livelihoods. 

Source: FAO

Key Components of a Food System

At its core, the food system supports a chain of actions that create and provide us with the foods we eat.

• Pre-production and inputs
• Production and harvest
• Aggregation and storage
• Processing
• Distribution
• Retail and marketing
• Consumption

Connection to Food Security

A healthy, functioning food system is essential for ensuring food security, which is the ability of all people to access sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Without sustainable practices, food production may falter, leading to food shortages and rising prices, which disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. In 2023, 733 million people—one in eleven globally—faced hunger. 

Why the Food System is Critical to Environmental Sustainability

The food system is not just about feeding people—it’s deeply intertwined with environmental sustainability and the future of our planet. Over 30% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions originate from the world’s agri-food systems. As the world faces the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, how we produce and consume food has never been more important. 

Source: FAO

Environmental Impacts

The food system is responsible for significant environmental pressures, such as:

• Climate change: Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from livestock production, deforestation, and fertilizer use.
• Water usage: Large-scale agriculture demands a tremendous amount of water, which strains freshwater supplies, especially in arid regions.
• Biodiversity loss: Expanding farmland into natural habitats threatens biodiversity, with monocultures and deforestation accelerating species extinction.

Major Challenges Facing the Food System

Despite its importance, the global food system faces significant challenges that threaten its sustainability and ability to provide for the world’s population.

Food Loss and Waste

One-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted along the supply chain. This occurs at various stages:

• On farms: Food is sometimes left unharvested due to weather conditions, labor shortages, or market fluctuations.
• During transportation: Perishable goods often spoil during long-distance transportation, especially when cold chains are inefficient.
• In stores and at home: Supermarkets discard unsold food, and consumers often throw away perfectly edible items.

In Kenya, TechnoServe is working to reduce food loss and waste—a key step in addressing climate change and boosting nutrition in low-income communities. By combining research with human-centered design processes, we’re engaging stakeholders across the fruit and vegetable ecosystem to create market-led products and services that address critical loss points in supply chains.

With support from the Gates Foundation and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, the Nutrisave program is identifying, piloting, and scaling innovations that increase access to affordable, nutritious foods in low-income communities.

TechnoServe is also contributing to the transformation of food systems by improving access to safe and nutritious foods by working with food processors that link staple crops to improved diets. For example, the Inspiring Good Nutrition Initiatives Through Enterprise (IGNITE) program is working across eight countries to increase the fortification capability of millers, leading to an increased proportion of fortified staple foods and the conversion of a critical mass of millers to improved food fortification practices. 

Climate Change and Agriculture: A Growing Crisis for Global Food Security

Climate change is rapidly emerging as one of the most significant threats to global food security, with far-reaching impacts on agricultural production and the livelihoods of millions of farmers worldwide. 

The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture

The effects of climate change on agriculture are multifaceted. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events are all contributing to a decline in crop yields and food quality. This is not a distant future scenario; NASA projections indicate that maize crop yields could decline by 24% as early as 2030 under a high emissions scenario.

The nutritional quality of food is also at risk. Elevated CO2 levels are lowering the nutritional content of many food crops, particularly in terms of protein, zinc, and iron. This reduction in nutritional value could have severe consequences for global health, especially in regions already struggling with malnutrition.

Smallholder Farmers: On the Front Lines

Smallholder farmers, who produce roughly a third of the world’s food, are particularly vulnerable to these changes. These farmers often lack the resources to adapt to changing conditions or recover from climate-related disasters. These challenges are compounded by the fact that many smallholder farmers are already living in poverty. This creates a vicious cycle where climate change impacts agricultural productivity, leading to increased poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition.

Fortifying Farmers Against Climate Change

In the face of these challenges, TechnoServe is working to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and promote sustainable agricultural practices. 

In Mexico, TechnoServe is partnering with Danone to promote sustainable, low-carbon strawberry production that improves biodiversity while supporting farmers’ livelihoods. TechnoServe offers technical advisory services to equip farmers with the skills to adopt regenerative practices that are tailored to their local environments. Through practices such as cover cropping, integrated pest management, and flower-pollinator strips to boost bee populations and farm biodiversity, the program is helping farmers build healthier, more resilient farms.

TechnoServe also connects farmers to trusted suppliers and strengthens links to broader markets that will allow them to receive higher prices. The results of the program have been impressive:

• 148 strawberry farmers and 567 farm workers trained in regenerative practices
• 30% average increase in farmer incomes
• 78 farmers connected to formal markets
• Over 1,000 metric tons of strawberries sourced annually by Danone
• 54% reduction in water use per hectare
• 50% reduction in CO₂-equivalent emissions per hectare.

With TechnoServe’s support and partners like Danone, strawberry farmers in Mexico are proving that regenerative agriculture is not only viable but also beneficial to both people and the planet.

Innovation and Technology: A Path Forward

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, there is a need for “continued investment in research, development, and technology… to achieve these goals [of healthy, productive, sustainable, and inclusive food systems].” As technology develops, it is a vital tool to bring rapid solutions to smallholder farmers and TechnoServe is taking the steps to collaboratively foster innovation. 

A TechnoServe accelerator has launched a pilot investment program to support startups with innovative solutions in the agriculture and food sectors. This initiative offers expert mentorship, personalized consultations, and opportunities to present proposals to key investors.

The first cohort included Latin American startups like ADAVIV and WEIIA, which focus on aiding small-scale farmers. ADAVIV is an AI platform that monitors greenhouse crops and staff tasks, reducing input losses and cutting costs by 20%. WEIIA provides ‘plant now, pay later’ loans, ensuring business security for both buyers and producers.

TechnoServe has also partnered with Yield Lab to promote agritech solutions that enhance productivity while minimizing environmental impact. Technologies such as GPS, robotics, smart sensors, and agricultural drones are transforming farming practices. By improving information quality, farmers can make informed decisions that optimize costs and resources, paving the way for a sustainable agricultural future.

Understanding Food Systems: A Vision for the Future

TechnoServe is nourishing healthy, fair, and sustainable food systems by supporting the growth of a thriving private sector. We work with the agri- and food businesses that help move food from farm to fork, encompassing production, milling, distribution, and consumption. 

The system we envision will be profitable and inclusive throughout all stages, provide broad benefits for society, and have a positive impact on the environment, ensuring that these processes don’t compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states, “Sustainable food consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all.”

A Call for Collective Action

To build a thriving and sustainable food system, we need a collective effort involving farmers, consumers, businesses, and policymakers. This includes investing in sustainable agricultural practices, improving supply chain efficiency, promoting access to better diets and nutritional education, and supporting innovative technologies that can help smallholder farmers adapt to changing conditions. 

Consumers play a vital role in shaping food systems through their choices and actions. By making informed decisions, we can contribute significantly to the sustainability of our food systems.

There are several ways consumers can help:

• Buy local and seasonal foods: Supporting local farmers reduces food miles and bolsters local economies. By choosing seasonal produce, consumers can also reduce the energy required for storage and transportation.
• Reduce food waste: Being mindful of food expiration dates and portion sizes can significantly cut down on waste. Composting food scraps and using leftovers creatively are also effective strategies.
• Support sustainable brands: Choosing products from companies that prioritize sustainability in their sourcing and production practices sends a powerful message to the market and encourages more businesses to adopt sustainable practices.

By making conscious choices about what we eat and how we consume, we can all contribute to a more sustainable food future.  

Creating sustainable food systems is a complex challenge that requires action at all levels, from individual consumers to global policymakers. By understanding what makes a food system sustainable and taking steps to support these systems, we can work toward a future where everyone has access to nutritious, sustainably produced food.