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Add to Preferred SourcesThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has entered a new era with a new structure and new dynamics. The 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are approaching; have to change the agri-food systems urgently and holistically. This transformation requires a systemic approach and collective action – Hand in Hand by producers, distributors, and consumers, together with governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society.
That is what the upcoming United Nations Food Systems Summit is about, and what FAO wants to achieve, together with all the partners, through the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031. The action of each and everyone has an impact on the future of the planet through the agri-food systems.
The Summit is timely. After decades of decline, the number of hungry people has been growing for the past five years, now amounting to as many as 811 million people. At the same time, obesity and other non-communicable diseases are ever-growing global problems associated with insufficiently diversified healthy diets and consumption patterns. Many of the current agri-food practices are also exacting a heavy toll on the planet. The agri-food systems are not functioning properly.
As the leading international organization in this field, FAO has been advocating for and supporting agri-food systems transformation. The “agri-food system” covers the journey of food from tillage to the table – from when it is planted, grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten, and disposed of. It encompasses non-food products such as forestry, animal rearing, use of feedstock, biomass to produce biofuels and fibers, and it constitutes all of the activities, investments, and choices made, and it impacts on the livelihoods of all the people that play a part in getting us these agri-food products.
With expertise ranging from policy and feasibility, science innovation, land and water, livestock and fisheries, to biodiversity and climate, food safety and normative work, geospatial data, and digital technology, FAO has been at the forefront supporting the preparation for this important global Summit, and more importantly, in line with its mandate, FAO will be taking the lead to implement follow-up actions after the Summit.
“In July, the United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit was held extraordinarily successfully at FAO headquarters in Rome. Together with FAO’s Chief Economist and Chief Scientist, I have been sitting on the Summit advisory bodies, scientific groups, and action tracks. We have been working closely with expert colleagues both inside and outside the UN system. With a presence in over 130 countries, our teams on the ground have been supporting “national dialogues” that contribute to the Summit outcomes and national priorities ensuring they are targeted and solution-oriented.”
Transforming the global agri-food systems rests ultimately with actions at the country and local levels. Culture is an important aspect. One needs only to look at cuisines to see how diverse agri-food systems are across and within countries. More than half of the population – around 4.5 billion people – earn our livelihoods directly through the agri-food production chain, supply chain, and value chain. And consumers of foods and game-changers.
“We at FAO have identified four cross-cutting/cross-sectional accelerators – technology, innovation, data, and “complements” (governance, human capital, and institutions). FAO has been organizing and better preparing itself for the past two years to lead the process. Our new Strategic Framework endorsed by Members is focused on supporting the achievement of the SDGs through the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems for the “Four Betters”: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life”.
“We have reformed our organizational structure and made it more modular and agile in order to make ourselves fit for purpose. For example, the newly created position of Chief Scientist, along with an Office of Innovation, and the Office of SDGs are concrete steps to strengthen the role of science and innovation to complement the socio-economic work led by the Chief Economist to underpin the transformation, as well as to track the achievement of the SDGs. Innovation is not just about technology. It is also about approaches and policies. It is about mindset“.
Countries, communities, and industries will determine their transformational pathways.The goal is pragmatic: build up ownership of Members and support Members by walking the talk and achieving concrete results on the ground.
FAO has the expertise and networks, and a vast array of tools to assist. Hand-in-Hand Initiative has established open-access geospatial platforms which can calculate forest cover, carbon sequestration potential, and water evaporation rates. The early-warning network systems can alert of coming droughts or crop pests. The applications calculate fodder supply and demand conditions in drought- or conflict-prone areas.
Furthermore, the analytical work, including new modeling work, recently assessed impacts and tradeoffs of proposed actions and systems which often have detrimental social, economic, and environmental effects, as well as determining how to better harness fiscal supports for agri-food systems.
FAO is well placed and ready to take full responsibility after the Summit outcomes are decided, and move forward to catalyze impacts together with all stakeholders and friends.
“Agri-food systems are complex and diverse. We all agree that they are not realizing their full potential if we run the business as usual. We need to craft solutions to achieve the Four Betters and leave no one behind. FAO has the capacity to lead this process with partners for a better world“.