This policy paper is the third and final paper of a three-part series on food systems in conflict and peacebuilding settings. The objectives of the series are to emphasize the urgency of addressing the relationship between conflict and food insecurity and to point out existing opportunities to do so. The first paper outlined the pathways and interconnections between violent conflict and food insecurity, which have a two-way relationship. On the one hand, violent conflict is a main driver of food insecurity because it disrupts food systems, affecting people’s ability to produce, trade and access food. On the other hand, food insecurity can be a contributing factor to the emergence and duration of conflict, depending on the context. The most common factors that exacerbate the risk of food insecurity contributing to violent conflict include environmental stress and climate-induced food shortages, production resource competition, and grievances related to social issues and food price. The second paper contextualized these pathways and interconnections with case studies of Venezuela and Yemen. The case studies showed that the conflict environment has had detrimental consequences for food security in both countries; it caused the food systems of these oil-producing and food import-dependent countries to contract. The paper identified four key themes that demonstrate the complex relationships and linkages between conflict and food insecurity: a shift from agriculture to oil, detrimental government policies, migration and displacement, and the politicization and weaponization of food, including food aid.

Conversely, equitable and sustainable food systems have the power to foster peace. This paper explores the opportunities for breaking the vicious cycle between food insecurity and violent conflict. For food system transformation and food security activities in conflict and peacebuilding settings to create conditions conducive to peace, it is important to apply a peacebuilding lens to food security interventions and a food security lens to peacebuilding efforts. The lenses can be integrated by taking a humanitarian–development–peace (HDP) nexus approach that enhances the integration of humanitarian, development and peace interventions.