Cities Driving Local Food Systems Transformation: Five Perspectives from Around the World

How can cities and local governments contribute to more sustainable, inclusive and resilient local food systems? This question will guide the next WorldFMC Academy Studio, Cities Driving Local Food Systems Transformation, taking place online on 12 November 2026 at 2:00 PM CET.

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Cities are not simply places where food is consumed. They are important actors in shaping how food is produced, distributed and accessed, and in strengthening connections between urban communities and the rural areas that feed them. Through local policies, public initiatives and collaboration with different stakeholders, local governments can help create the conditions for more sustainable and resilient food systems.

Farmers markets are one example of how this transformation can take shape at the local level. By connecting producers and consumers, they contribute to local economies, community life, food education and the preservation of agricultural and cultural diversity. Yet their broader contribution is not always fully recognised in urban policies and planning.

Building on the perspectives presented in WorldFMC’s October 2026 position paper, Moving Towards a Public Advocacy Strategy for Farmers Markets: Stitching Together a Canopy of Commerce and Community, this Academy Studio will explore how cities can support local food initiatives and strengthen collaboration among local governments, farmers, farmers market organisations and other stakeholders.

Five perspectives, five country contexts

The session will bring together five speakers from Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, Republic of the Congo and Italy, offering different perspectives on the role of cities and local governments in supporting local food systems.

Each speaker will share insights from their own country context, drawing on practical experience and concrete examples. Their contributions will explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration between local governments, public and private entities, farmers’ markets and other stakeholders; approaches to setting action-oriented goals and achieving measurable outcomes; and future opportunities and lessons learned.

The speakers will each have up to 10 minutes to present one or two concrete case examples.

Meet the speakers:

Moe Garahan – Canada
Executive Director of Just Food and Partnership Coordinator of the Food Communities Network – Réseau Communauté Nourricières

Moe Garahan has been working on food system change since 1995.  Focused on community development and community economic development approaches, Moe has facilitated work regionally and across Indigenous Territories / Canada, including as Director of Food Communities Network, connecting communities coast-to-coast-to-coast, and as Executive Director of Just Food, within the mixed urban and rural setting of the Algonquin/Ottawa region. 

Dao The Anh – Vietnam
President of the Vietnam Rural Development Science Association (PHANO); Former Vice-President of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)

Assoc. Prof. Dr Dao The Anh is a systems-oriented scientist with 35 years of experience in socio-economic research on agrarian systems, food systems, food value chains and family farming. He is Vietnam’s national convener for food systems under the UN Food Systems Summit and a foreign member of the French Academy of Agriculture. His recent work focuses on agroecological transition, bioeconomy and food environments, as well as food and nutrition security at national, regional and international levels, particularly through South-South cooperation.

Varangkanang Nimhutta (Pui) – Thailand
Main Coordinator, Growing Cities Network, Thailand

Pui has been actively involved in Thailand’s urban agriculture movement for nearly 15 years. Her work focuses particularly on low-income urban communities, people facing food insecurity and early childhood development centres, reaching more than 130 project sites through community garden initiatives. She works to strengthen communities’ capacity to grow safe and healthy food, manage local food systems and build resilience. She is also actively engaged in advancing food systems policies in Bangkok through collaboration between communities, government agencies and other stakeholders.

Jacorcel OBABAKA – Republic of the Congo
Attaché to the Prime Minister, Head of Government; Municipal and Departmental Councillor of Brazzaville

A municipal and departmental councillor of Brazzaville since 2017, Jacorcel OBABAKA BANDZA KIMB Dieudonné is currently serving his second term as an elected representative of Moungali. His political experience is rooted in direct engagement with local communities and an understanding of the realities of the capital. He aims to bring local communities’ needs and expectations into public decision-making and contribute to the development of Brazzaville and the Republic of the Congo.

Francesco Cagnola – Italy
Expert in Public Food Policy and Member of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact

Francesco Cagnola works with the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact as its focal point for Latin America, supporting more than 70 cities and fostering strategic partnerships with the Agroecology Fund. With a background in sustainable agriculture, including training through a permaculture residency in central Italy, he brings experience in connecting city-level food policies with wider international networks.

Join the conversation

By bringing together experiences from five different country contexts, this WorldFMC Academy Studio will provide an opportunity to exchange knowledge, share practical approaches and reflect on how cities can become stronger drivers of local food systems transformation.

WorldFMC Academy Studio – Cities Driving Local Food Systems Transformation

12 November 2026
2:00 PM CET
Online | 75 minutes
Moderator: J. Robin Moon

Join us for the discussion and be part of the exchange!

Register for the session