How nations can achieve food sovereignty using new technologies

As migration and globalization bring more multicultural societies, a central question arises: can trade help communities preserve their identity? At the core of this discussion is the idea of “food sovereignty.”

Food sovereignty is described as “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods” and, importantly, the power to control their own food systems.

Culturally appropriate food refers to cuisine tied to a particular group’s values, norms, religion, and preferences, as noted in an article in The Conversation. These traditions evolve over time but remain markers of identity.

For example, Chinese cuisine makes heavy use of bok choy, Chinese eggplant, and gailan (Chinese broccoli). South Asians favor okra, bitter melon, and eggplant. Many African communities rely on okra and amaranth, though spinach may be substituted when amaranth is scarce.

The author points out that many cultures share ingredients but prepare them differently, with migration and trade shaping cuisines across history. Today, as cultures mix more readily, new food traditions are created by blending older ones.

Such integration doesn’t erase cultural foodways—it enriches them. London’s curries reflect South Asian migration, while channa (chickpea) and chapati (flatbread) entered Kenyan and Tanzanian diets through Indian traders and settlers.

Trusted food tracing through technology

Yet tracing the exact origin of foods—whether local or imported—is often difficult. While this knowledge empowers consumers, it can be costly for farmers, leaving them little motivation to label products.

To close this gap, the author proposes a digital solution: “crypto-labelling.” This system would track food from farm to shelf using secure technology, preventing duplication, ensuring consistent records, and creating easy traceability.

Such labels would bring transparency to specialized markets like halal, kosher, or organic foods. By using trusted digital records, buyers and sellers could form reliable relationships without needing to personally know each other.

The initiative would rely on blockchain, the same technology that underpins Bitcoin, and could be managed by consumer or producer cooperatives. For shoppers, only a smartphone would be needed to scan and verify the labels.

Blockchain could allow African countries to “leapfrog” into the fourth industrial revolution. Leapfrogging means skipping outdated technologies, as when many households bypassed landlines in favour of mobile phones, which in turn fuelled mobile banking in Kenya and Somalia.

Similarly, crypto-labelling could make food certification more affordable in the long run. With mobile phone use expanding globally, the system is both practical and scalable in developing economies.

The detriment of free trade

Still, the article stresses that digital platforms will only support food sovereignty if global trade does not undermine local systems. Cheap imports remain a major obstacle.

If imported goods cost far less than locally produced ones, farmers cannot recover their expenses. While low prices make imports appealing, dependence on them erodes sovereignty, particularly when countries rely on foreign sources for staple foods.

By contrast, local food production bolsters food safety when consumers buy directly from farmers or through community-supported agriculture. It promotes healthier diets with fresher produce, strengthens local economies by generating jobs, and supports value-added industries.

By Nazrin Sadigova