Food Security and Nutrition in City Region Food System Planning - Sri Lanka

Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) is located in the center of Kandy-Colombo-Galle urbanization belt, where it forms the largest Local Authority (LA) of Sri Lanka and one of the oldest in South Asia, established in 1865. Together with 12 other LAs, it forms part of the Colombo district, which is one of three districts (Colombo, Gamapaha and Kalutara) of Sri Lanka’s most populated Western Province, which hosts the largest part of the urbanization belt. Main issues related to urban food security are: fragmentation, malnutrition, stagnant crop yields and increasing food prices, complexity of value chains, food safety and food miles. Based on stakeholder consultations and available research, policy and strategy recommendations are as follows: 1) Facilitate a more holistic and territorial approach to food security and nutrition; 2)Develop physical and institutional capacity to reduce the vulnerability of the urban poor to food price fluctuations; 3) Strengthening food safety across the Colombo city region food system.