The role of traditional food systems in rapid urbanization: scope, methods and high-level findings: policy briefing note 1

This Briefing Note is the first in a series of four. It discusses the purpose of the project, its methodology and some of the high-level findings from the study, specifically the fieldwork conducted between May and July 2023 in two field sites in the City of Johannesburg Metropole (CoJ), South Africa. Based on these high-level findings, we propose the following policy recommendations: 1) Deeper interdisciplinary research on the contribution of traditional fruits and vegetables (TFVs) to food and nutrition security and how nutritional properties can be enhanced; 2) Greater collaboration amongst various actors and stakeholders to enhance public awareness of the various benefits of TFVs; and 3) Reworking parallel systems of production and trade.