Sustainable food systems through diversification and indigenous vegetables: an analysis of the Arusha area

One pathway to more sustainability – which acts as a guiding principle for the various unique pathways – is to support diversified agroecological systems. One way to diversify is to better integrate indigenous vegetables. Despite their potential, indigenous vegetables are routinely neglected by policymakers. There is limited information on the factors and actors that are currently hindering the benefits of indigenous vegetables to materialise, and how governance and policy can support indigenous vegetables in diverse contexts. This report, a major outcome of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems Strategies (SASS) programme, aims at filling this knowledge gap and presents the preliminary results of two years of interdisciplinary research and dialogue activities in Arusha, Tanzania, on the diversification pathway. It describes the food system(s) of rural, peri-urban and urban areas in and around Arusha, diagnoses the drivers and constraints for better integration of indigenous vegetables, and helps to decide on pathways towards more sustainability.