A contribution to the dialogues preparing the UN Food Systems Summit.
Agrinatura has published the position paper “Agrinatura Position on Research and Innovation in Food Systems, a contribution to the dialogues preparing the UN Food Systems Summit.”
Malnutrition, obesity, environmental degradation, emission of greenhouse gases are problems that our food systems have to face. These systems are also influenced by interrelations between intensive agricultural practices and climate change that cause other problems such as livelihood stresses for farmers, increased social and economic vulnerabilities and inequities and migration. So it is necessary to make food systems more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.
European Green Deal and other international initiatives such as the UN-Food System Summit, UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025), the last decade for the realization of the SDGs opened a discussion on innovative agriculture.
The next Food Systems Summit in autumn 2021, will deal with the importance of food systems in dialogue activities to collect different perspectives and develop strategies in order to face the urgent issues.
Food Systems include all activities from farm to fork such as the related resources , production , transport, processing and manifacturing industries , retailing , consumption of food and their impacts on environment, health and society.
Agrinatura focuses the attention on the diversification of varieties, crops, production systems, markets , etc. as one of the most important principles in agriculture transformation in order to make food system more resilient to external shock and stresses.
To solve the problems of food systems and food system transformation, it is necessary to have a common reference framework. Scientists can help to find out the processes, system boundaries, indicators and metrics that can be applied in different contexts. Public and private actors, farmers and consumers have to work together to change the system and develop strategies for transformation.
Researchers must contribute to dialogue on entry points for change; they have to support innovation and learning within food systems and to participate in foresight studies.
In order to achieve this, researchers and graduates should have critical thinking.
The researches have to move from a collaborative approach, that links science with the rest of society such as farmers, consumers, etc.
The aim of the Food System Summit is to focus on the problems of the poorest people on the planet, to reduce inequality in all regions of the world and to ensure global food security. So we need sustainable and equitable models for a better future and humanity.
Agrinatura considers knowledge as a means of transformation and wishes the help and the collaboration of public and private actors having as a final goal the good of mankind.
Read/download the position paper | via Agrinatura [.pdf | 217 KB]
Title photo | via Agrinatura Publications page.