Region: Rwanda and Guatemala
Description: The CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation (DI) aims to generate research-based evidence and innovative solutions using digital innovations to advance the inclusive and sustainable transformation of food, land, and water systems. Real-time monitoring of food systems is one such workflow where the expertise of external organisations can facilitate and strengthen on-going activities. The work of the University of Twente on domestic transport network analytics (e.g. Nelson et al., 2021), provides an opportunity for contextualisation of the diet quality and food flow mapping in Rwanda. An improved understanding of the interplay of transport networks on the flow of food items, and the (potential) subsequent impacts on diet quality could transform understanding of food environments and motivate timely interventions. Use of real-time and standardised food flow information would also provide validation opportunities for current modelling performed for Rwanda (Nelson, et al., 2021), which could have global relevance in demonstrating unforeseen frictions within localised systems.
The objective of this collaboration agreement is to generate a detailed map of Rwanda’s transport network, updating current analytics developed, to support DI. Specifically, the collaboration will seek to explore the potential for integrating commodity flow and seasonality information into the model, for a more detailed understanding of Rwandan food environments. The work will generate buy-in of governmental agencies and institutes workshop to better understand stakeholder needs to move toward scenario-based ‘What-if’ interface to demonstrate the sensitivity of food security to infrastructure and market mechanisms. Further, this collaboration will explore opportunities of expanding similar analyses in Guatemala, where parallel diet and food flow mapping are on-going.
Partners: IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture)
Sponsor: CGIAR
Contact Person: Andy Nelson, Rolf de By