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ArrayBuilding the resilience of Melbournes food system - a roadmap
20/05/2022
The Building the resilience of Melbourne's Food System report outlines a roadmap of recommendations for increasing the resilience of Melbourne’s food system to shocks and stresses related to climate change and pandemic. This roadmap was developed through a collaborative co-design process with stakeholders.
The report recommendations include investment and research on the use of recycled and stormwater for a circular food economy. These sources will be an important backup as the availability of water for food production continues to decrease in warming and drying climate. The report notes that stormwater storage facilities already supply water to urban farms and orchards throughout the suburbs and on urban-rural interface (3.5.2)
Further key recommendations include
- Develop a Victorian food resilience plan to strengthen the resilience of the state’s food system to future shocks and stresses
- Embed self-determination and food sovereignty of Victoria’s First Nations peoples at the centre of the state’s food resilience plan
- Ensure equitable access to food by legislating the Right to Food, establishing clear government responsibility, and addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity
- Promote regenerative and agro-ecological production systems by facilitating stakeholder co-development of regional plans and incentivising best practice and innovation
- Promote protected closed loop and urban agriculture by reviewing policy and regulatory barriers, providing investment, and establishing training pathways
- Develop integrated policy and regulatory frameworks to promote circular food economies
- Support local and regional food supply chains by investing in local food processing and distribution, and supporting the development of decentralised logistics and marketing schemes
- Ensure sustainable livelihoods by providing a living wage in food and farming and diverse career and training pathways.
