By Kurt Ackermann, CEO of the South African Urban Food & Farming Trust (SAUFFT)
As we mark World Food Day under this year’s theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow,” we are invited to reflect on the changes needed to build better food systems for the future.
When we think about innovation, we often think of new technologies, improved farming methods or creative ways to produce and distribute food. But innovation can also mean something simpler: allowing people to do what they do, standing alongside them and providing the support and stability they need to continue.
We often assume that bringing the right people together, agreeing on a policy, securing a municipal budget and developing a plan will eventually solve the problems we have identified.
This is an understandable ambition. A clear plan, backed by public resources and supported by institutions, can provide an important foundation for change. But it is not always enough, and change may not need to begin there.
Beyond policy on paper
Through our work across African cities, we have seen how different approaches to food systems change can emerge.
In some cities, the process begins with formal structures and policies, with the expectation that these will bring different actors together to implement solutions. Yet these processes can struggle to secure the meaningful involvement of civil society and the private sector, particularly when these groups lack the resources to participate.
Cape Town presents a different picture. Civil society organisations and the private sector already play active roles in responding to local food system challenges, and the City is becoming part of this evolving process.
While this approach can be harder to coordinate, it creates opportunities for change to grow from practical experience, existing relationships and the work already taking place on the ground.
Formal platforms, policies and budgets matter. But they cannot replace the people, knowledge and relationships that make change possible. Nor should we assume that establishing a platform will automatically lead to meaningful participation or resolve the problems it was created to address.
Our challenge is to connect these efforts: support what people are already doing, learn from their experiences, and build the relationships and institutions that sustain their work.
Innovation means creating the conditions for change.
Our work with urban markets in Cape Town illustrates this approach. Practical work in Langa and at Smiley Market, including engagement with informal traders, market improvements and assessments of infrastructure needs, helped inform our recommendations on the City of Cape Town’s draft Market Management Policy.
This work highlighted the importance of recognising markets not simply as places of commercial activity, but as essential parts of urban food systems that support food access, livelihoods and resilience.
It also showed how practical experience can inform policy, especially when grounded in the realities of the people who use and depend on these spaces.
But this work’s value extends beyond policy recommendations. It is about recognising the knowledge that already exists, understanding what people need to keep working, and ensuring their experiences shape the decisions that affect them.
To build more resilient food systems, we need to do more than develop plans. We need to stand alongside the people already creating change and help ensure they have the support, resources and stability to continue.
Nourishing tomorrow starts with how we work today.
This is why dialogue matters. On 31 October, Food Dialogues will take place in Johannesburg, offering an opportunity to engage with the challenges facing our food systems and explore how different actors can contribute to change.
The accompanying multi-stakeholder dialogue and visit to Alexandra Township will offer another opportunity to learn from people on the ground, understand their experiences, and see how they are supported in their work.
These engagements matter because lasting change does not come from one institution, one policy or one innovation alone. It emerges through the work of people and organisations, supported by the relationships, resources and institutions that enable them to continue.
Innovation may begin with a single idea or a practical response to a local problem. Its lasting value, however, depends on whether we can learn from it, build on it and create the conditions for it to make a meaningful difference.
As we reflect on World Food Day, we should ask not only what we can innovate today, but also how we can better support the people who are already working to nourish our communities.
Sometimes, the most important innovation is not doing something for people. It is creating the conditions for people to do what they do best, and standing alongside them as they do it.
About SAUFFT
The South African Urban Food & Farming Trust (SAUFFT) strengthens urban communities through food and farming. Its programmes include the Agrihub Initiative, EESI, GrowSA, Oranjezicht City Farm, and AfriFOODlinks, which support farmers, communities, and more resilient urban food systems. Through Food Indaba and Food Dialogues, SAUFFT also brings together diverse voices to explore food system challenges and shape solutions for the future.
