Lack of Governance Capacity in Food Systems: Lessons from the Portuguese Initiatives

Abstract

This article is a first contribution to address the lack of a multidimensional perspective on Portugal food systems, based on the analysis of a set of plans and declarations proposed by FAO, the Milan Pact, non-governmental organisations and academia.

As a sample, two national databases coordinated by the Nutrition Faculty of the University of Porto and the national Sustainable Cities Food network were used, on a total of 96 initiatives.

Confronting the Milan Pact's six dimensions and the dimensions found in the Portuguese initiatives it reveals the scarce presence of "governance" and an emphasis on "sustainable diet and nutrition". At the expense of the remaining dimensions: Social and economic equity; Food production; Food supply and distribution; and Food waste.

We conclude that although a promising scenario exists, there is still a lack of a systemic vision of the programmes and projects developed. Additionally, these are rarely conceived as part of a food governance strategy, with the involvement of the actors and sectors of the food system in decision-making.

Finally, we propose a monitoring lab to enable the follow-up of existing and forthcoming initiatives, following international monitoring metrics, with a focus on governance and the challenges to its operationalisation.