The world relies on sustainable agriculture, resilient supply chains, and the availability of healthy food. BCG works with businesses, foundations, and governments to make the world’s food supply flourish—even in the face of climate-related threats.
The challenges related to food systems and security are complex and urgent. Climate change can and does threaten the food supply—along with the incomes of those who grow crops or raise livestock. Catastrophes such as COVID-19 can throw just-in-time supply chains off balance in a flash. At the same time, workers, customers, and shareholders are exerting pressure on companies to reduce their carbon footprint and their use of plastics in packaging.
BCG helps organizations manage these complexities. We bring deep expertise on issues ranging from supply chain management to advanced data and analytics. And we take a holistic, systems-mapping approach to help our clients address challenges.
Large food systems companies manage expansive supply chains that crisscross the globe. And yet many of their challenges are local. Our holistic approach to food systems consulting helps keep these dynamics in balance and includes support in the following areas:
How to build resilience in Egyptian food systems in a post-COVID world.
Digital Agriculture
Digital has the potential to transform agriculture in ways that can improve food security as well as the livelihoods and resiliency of farmers who are feeling the effects of climate change. But digital transformation doesn’t come easily, especially in a such a complex, fragmented space. We worked with the Gates Foundation to take a systems approach to understand what a strong digital agriculture ecosystem looks like, and how best to facilitate the development of both public and private sector digital solutions.
Smallholder Farmers
These small, often single-family-owned farms face particular challenges to thrive or even to subsist. We create custom solutions based on our careful study of each situation. For instance, a thorough review of successful smallholder support systems in China yielded a plan for applying best practices to parts of Africa. We also worked closely with a major foundation to take a systems-change approach to supporting smallholder livestock development and digital farmer services.
Agricultural Trade Policies
Trade policies are key to unlocking food self-sufficiency possibilities, building an agricultural sector, meeting worldwide food demand, and more. In one engagement, we helped an African country and a regional free trade union understand the mutual benefits, negotiation strategies, and legal risks involved in entering a free trade agreement.
Agricultural Markets and Development
The agricultural value chain is subject to many new trends and disruptions. We help clients understand emerging trends and incorporate them into long-term plans. For instance, we helped a ministry of agriculture in Latin America create a development plan for the country’s agriculture frontier region.
Food Systems Transformation Journey
Transforming a country’s food system begins with a thorough analysis of that system. BCG, in collaboration with the Food System Transformative Integrated Policy Initiative, developed a toolkit that offers a step-by-step process guide as well as practical tools that, using a collaborative design approach, help to identify the key challenges and opportunities in a country’s food system.
Stunting
Stunting, one of the effects of malnutrition, has long-term impacts on brain development and cognitive function. BCG’s food security consultants partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Tanzania to address chronic hunger and the stunting it causes. This work illustrates how our approach called Smart Simplicity can be used by any organization to address complex problems, such as food security and malnutrition, using current resources and funding.
Nutrition
Encouraging better nutrition begins with understanding where the problems are. In our work with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, we mapped supply and demand of nutrition assistance. In other projects, we have developed training and communication tools and strategies for improving the production of, and access to, nutritious foods.
Public-, private-, and social-sector players need to cooperate to achieve the SDGs—but such collaborations often come up short. Here’s how to make them pay off.
The global food system depends on nature, but it also contributes to its destruction. With a nature-positive approach, companies can preserve the resources necessary to ensure a healthy food supply.
It’s time for a radical rethinking of food policies in Africa. Here, BCG’s Chris Mitchell joins Federico Bellone of High-Level Climate Champions at COP27 to discuss what it will take, amid rising temperatures, to transform food systems across the continent.
Climate change is pushing natural systems to the brink. Companies that integrate sustainability into their core can change the game.
For more than a decade, BCG has supported WFP to enhance its effectiveness on a wide range of strategic, operational, and organizational issues.
BCG is the knowledge partner of OP2B, a business coalition dedicated to driving transformational change to protect and restore biodiversity, with a specific focus on regenerative agricultural practices.
Managing Director & Partner
Washington, DC
