Community-based extension models for promoting safe and nutritious food systems

Abstract

Ensuring safe, nutritious, and accessible food remains a critical challenge for achieving global food security and public health objectives. An advances in food research, postharvest management, and nutritional interventions, adoption of safe and nutritious food practices is often limited at the community level due to socioeconomic, cultural, and infrastructural barriers. Community-based extension models have emerged as effective strategies to bridge this gap by actively engaging local stakeholders, including farmers, small-scale processors, women’s groups, and youth, in knowledge exchange, skill development, and participatory decision-making. These models facilitate the dissemination of safe food handling practices, nutritional education, value-added food technologies, and sustainable production methods, thereby enhancing dietary quality, reducing postharvest losses, and promoting income generation. By integrating traditional knowledge with modern innovations, community-based extension approaches empower communities, strengthen local food systems, and foster resilient, equitable, and health-promoting food environments. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the principles, strategies, and impacts of community-based extension models, highlighting their role in advancing safe and nutritious food systems and identifying future opportunities for research, policy, and practice.