Over the course of several months, a broad range of experts, policy makers and practitioners
held a series of consultations to explore the contribution of agroecology to innovative
and transformative climate change adaptation responses.
This paper is the culmination
of this process, which not only sought to develop a common understanding of the role of
agroecology to climate change adaptation, but to craft a common language that can help
bring together the agriculture and climate change communities.
It highlights the potential of agroecological practices to increase resilience and explore different approaches to address climate change vulnerabilities through the lens of food system transformation. As such, it supports the work of the Global Commission on Adaptation and its action track on food security and rural livelihoods.
The consultative process identified the following five key messages:
To be innovative, adaptation efforts must respond to the systemic challenges posed
by climate change to our food systems.
Diverse agricultural systems are less vulnerable to extreme climatic events, climate
variability, and cumulative agro-climatic changes.
To strengthen the adaptive capacity of rural livelihoods, it is necessary to pair
technological innovations, and improvements in agricultural practices, with investments
in social capital, the co-creation of knowledge with farmers, new marketing networks,
and the responsible governance of land and natural resources.
Integrated measurement approaches, such as true cost accounting, are necessary
to capture all the factors that contribute to climate-resilient food systems.
Innovating adaptation to climate change calls for nothing less than transforming our
food systems.
Background:
The 'Innovating Climate Change Adaptation through Agroecology' series of online events (27-29 May 2020) brought together representatives from organizations focused on development cooperation and adaptation.
The consultation series was organized by TMG Research, together with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), in support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s efforts to increase the focus on the importance of agroecology to address climate change adaptation needs and food security.
"Adaptation strategies have to go beyond technological solutions and foster social
innovation, gender equality, and strengthened communities." Alexander Müller, Managing Director, TMG Research
During the conference, experts and international scientists presented the latest knowledge and researches on mycotoxin management, including the outcomes of the four years EU projects, with special focus on Europe-China dialogue.
The conference, aims to be a very important and strategic appointment for all the scientific communities, industries/companies and stakeholders, that operate in the field of the food safety, and it is based on a cross -disciplinary approach, required by the deep evolution of the whole agrifood sector.
The programme of the Conference is strongly oriented towards integrated strategies for mycotoxin minimization worldwide including topics on advances in applied research in food chain , and topics focusing on industrial and networking actions.
Zhang Hao, China: Mycotoxin management for safe food and feed by EU-China cooperation
S1 – Challenges in Mycotoxin Analysis in food and feed
Sarah De Saeger, Belgium - WP3 “Mycotoxin Monitoring: main outcome of Mycokey Project”,
including Q&A
Veronica Lattanzio, Italy – Development, validation and in field application of multiplex dipstick
immunoassay for Fusarium toxins detection in cereals
Dandan Kong, China – DNA aptamer based strip tests for multi-mycotoxin analysis
Biodiversity, Fungi Monitoring & Functional Genomics of Toxigenic Fungi
Kris Audenaert, Belgium - WP2 “Monitoring of toxigenic fungi: main outcome from MycoKey
Project”
Meixin Yang, China Population Genomic Analysis Reveals a Highly Conserved Mitochondrial Genome
in Fusarium asiaticum
John F. Leslie, USA – Species Clusters in Fusarium
Voices from food and feed industries
Yuri Lebedin, Russia, XEMA – Immunoassay of Fusarium: update and applications
Ronald Niemeijer, Germany, R-BIOPHARM – Closing the gap: Smartphone based analytical tools for
mycotoxin testing
Giulia Rosar, Italy, EUROFINS/TECNA – Eurofins Technologies brings reliable and smart screening
solutions to industries for mycotoxins monitoring
Giovanni Galiazzo, Italy, FUTURLAB – Is there available an automatization simple, versatile and
reliable for the quantification of toxins on feed and food matrixes? An easier way to get reliable results
CLOSING OF THE DAY
David Miller, Canada - An unwanted surprise: genetic changes in the populations of important
toxigenic fungi
20/10 Prevention in the field
Susanne Vogelgsang, Switzerland – WP4 “Mycotoxin prevention strategies: main outcomes from the
Mycokey project”
Dimitrios Drakopoulos, Switzerland - Innovative cropping systems and bio-pesticides to prevent
mycotoxins in wheat
Lorenzo Stagnati, Italy - Unravelling the genetic basis of Fusarium resistance in different maize
populations
Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, Nigeria – Reducing aflatoxin contamination in several African nations
through use of commercial atoxigenic biological control products
Voices from food and feed industries
Lorenzo Serra, Italy, SYNGENTA – AdepidynTM: step change to control a broad range of Fusarium
species (To Be Confirmed)
Luca Alinovi, Kenya AFLAZERO LTD – The circular economy solution to aflatoxin: Transforming
toxic crops into healthy food and feed
Olga Averkieva, France, ADISSEO – ADISSEO a global leader in animal nutrition – With a
comprehensive range of feed additives and services
Food and feed Remediation & Processing
Michelangelo Pascale, Italy – WP6 “Mycotoxin remediation: main outcomes from the Mycokey
project”, including Q&A
Vito D’Ascanio, Italy – Development of a new bio-organoclay for mycotoxin decontamination: in vitro
and in vivo evidence
Yu-Cai Liao, China - Detoxification of deoxynivalenol in wheat by bacteria and enzymes
Michele Suman, Italy – The Influence of Processing Parameters on the Mitigation of Deoxynivalenol
during Industrial Baking
S6 – Modelling & ICT Solutions
Paola Battilani, Italy - Modelling as useful tool for mycotoxin management in the field
Theo van Der Lee, The Netherlands - MycoKey app: an ICT solution to facilitate mitigation of
mycotoxin risks
Voices from food and feed industries
Jog Raj, Serbia, PATENT CO - PATENT CO DOO- Company pitch and mycotoxins related
activities at PATENT CO.
Virginie Marquis, France, PHILEO-LESAFFRE – Efficacy assessment and protective effect of yeast
fractions in reducing the negative impact of mycotoxins in animals.
Marie-Clarisse Techer, France, MIXSCIENCE – Biological detoxification of zearalenone by Bacillus
subtilis strains
Gerardo Morantes, Switzerland, BUHLER AG – Advanced grain cleaning solutions for mycotoxin
reduction
INSIGHTS FROM EUROPEAN PROJECT AND STRATEGY
Rudolf Krska, Austria – The impact of integrated management strategies as proposed by MyToolBox
to control mycotoxins in the food supply chain
Alessio Bacchielli, Italy - European Commission, Belgium – Green Deal Call: from farm to fork
14:30 Frans Verstraete, Belgium - European Commission, Belgium - EU policy on mycotoxins in feed and
food: Update and outlook
CONFERENCE CLOSING
Antonio F. Logrieco, Italy, Closing remarks of the Conference
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR MYCOTOXICOLOGY MEETING
General Assembly - ISM Board:
Rudolf Krska, Austria, Antonio Moretti, Italy; Sarah De Saeger, Belgium, Antonio F. Logrieco, Italy
Communications and future perspectives
de Schutter, Sean Woolfrey, Nick Jacobs, San Bilal, Jeske van Seters and Emile Frison, joint IPES-Food and ECDPM brief, October 2020, 8 pages
The European Union (EU) has committed to supporting the global transition to more sustainable food systems. As the world’s largest food importer, the EU can use its trade policies and agreements to stimulate and incentivise more sustainable practices by its trade partners. In this brief, authors from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) and ECDPM provide specific recommendations on how the EU can do so.
Building on lessons from existing initiatives, the EU should adopt sector-specific regulations and sustainability standards to promote imports of sustainable food, and restrict the import of illegally or unsustainably manufactured products. Further, real change can only be achieved if the EU makes sustainable food systems an explicit objective of its free trade agreements, negotiates relevant sustainability provisions in these agreements and monitors efficiently the impact of these provisions on food systems. At the multilateral level, the World Trade Organization and the upcoming 2021 Food Systems Summit can be good platforms for the EU to build alliances with like-minded countries to push for global trade rules that promote sustainable food systems.
The EU should explore sector-specific cooperation
agreements to ensure that imports entering the EU
have been legally and sustainably produced (for
example, working towards zero deforestation, zero
child labour, zero biodiversity loss, carbon neutrality)
in line with relevant international commitments and
standards, including those deriving from UN human
rights treaties and ILO conventions, and adhering to
the same level of sustainability requirements as EU
producers. In doing so, it should draw lessons from, and
build on, the cocoa sustainability standards being
developed with Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, and the
broader precedent of Voluntary Partnership
Agreements (VPAs) under the Forest Law Enforcement,
Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. (page 3)
Rodrigo de Lapuerta – Director, Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium, FAO.
David Sassoli - the President of the European Parliament
Janus Wojciechowski - the European Commissioner for Agriculture,
QU Dongyu - the Director-General FAO
Cristelle Pratt in behalf of Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti - the Secretary-General, Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
Alzira Ferreira - the Director, Office to the European Union and Belgium, WFP
In the second part of the event, experts from the field, beneficiaries, industry and resource partners interactively tracing the paths of cocoa beans from tree to shelf while highlighting the sustainability and environmental challenges along the way.
In the cut-throat world of chocolate, big businesses have kept information on their supply chains close to their chests.
But as scrutiny grows of the role of child labour and deforestation in what remains a largely informal industry, and policymakers step up regulation, they are finally making headway in mapping and disclosing their products’ origins.
Madame Fanny is an inspiring woman who exemplifies Cocoa Life’s principles, including the belief that women are one of the cocoa industry’s most valuable resources.
In Côte d’Ivoire, Madame Fanny Assata Doumbia, who leads the ECAM farmers’ cooperative. ECAM supports farmers with continuing education on agriculture and financial management. Madame Fanny is an inspiring woman who exemplifies Cocoa Life’s principles, including the belief that women are one of the cocoa industry’s most valuable resources.
"There’s a campaign to sensitize men to the changing roles of women. ECAM has participated greatly in this effort. Men are being encouraged to include women in decision-making. In the very beginning, men were resistant. Today, not all men are open to the idea, but the majority understand that including women is the way to go." Madame Fanny Assata Doumbia
By 2025:All chocolate produced and/or sold in Belgium shall comply with a relevant certification standard and/or shall be manufactured from cocoa-based products covered by a corporate sustainability scheme “Beyond Chocolate” partners shall comply with applicable agreements between governments and companies in the regions included in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative
Constituted in April 2016, the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition brings together 25 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from different nationalities, political groups and parliamentary committees. Through the Alliance, MEPs are actively contributing to consolidate the political commitment to fight against hunger and malnutrition at the European Union level. The Alliance provides a platform for policy dialogue and awareness raising on the right to adequate food for all, on the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition and on making agriculture more sustainable and resilient.
With the threat of climate change and coronavirus, decentralized renewable energy could be key to building more resilient food systems.
For sub-Saharan Africa, the negative impact of climate change has made thinking about better farming practices more important than ever. Massive shifts in rainfall patterns over the years have forced countries in this region to be net food importers, meaning that the continent imports more food than it exports. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa spent USD64.5 billion importing food, and this is projected to rise to over USD110 billion by 2025, should there be no interventions. These commodities, which can be produced on the continent, include rice, beef, soybeans, sugar and wheat, among others.
Europe remains Africa’s top agricultural trade partner but the COVID-19 pandemic led to depressed demand due to financial constraints and shifts in spending patterns. In that light, decentralized renewable energy rollout is becoming a central part of building resilience, scaling agriculture and strengthening food productivity in Africa.
However, with growing noise about a green revolution, it isn’t all doom and gloom.
Solar powered irrigation allows farmers to unlock existing resources to boost the resilience of their farms that are at the mercy of unpredictable weather patterns. Kenyan-based renewable concern Sunculture operates as a ‘one stop shop’ for clean energy solutions, tailored for smallholder farmers. The company runs a Pay-As-You-Go financing model which lowers financial barriers for renewables ownership. SunCulture provides smallholder farmers with the technology, financing, and services to make their farms smart and more productive today and into the future.
“It’s in our best interest as a business for our systems to be working so that our customers are earning the income to pay us back,” says Sunculture chief of staff Mikayla Czajkowski.
Another innovative company making strides in Rwanda’s renewables market is InspiraFarms. The firm
provides small and growing agro businesses in the developing world with tools, technology and expertise to reduce food losses, energy costs and access higher value markets. One of the reasons farmers do not have access to the cold chainis because they cannot plug into any cooling solution without access to energy. Furthermore, the absence of cold storage and poor transportation are the main drivers of post-harvest losses (PHL).
InspiraFarms then developed off-grid hybrid solutions including solar kits and grid connection in a bid to solve one of the teething issues around bringing the cold chain into the first mile of distribution, particularly close to production points.
“It is very common that the levels of PHL can be higher than 30% as a result of a
combination of factors, but a unifying theme is lack of cold chain infrastructure close enough to harvest points and the time lag in between harvest and first cold chain access. This causes high levels of over-maturation and dehydration, with further impact on quality preventing access to valuable export markets,” InspiraFarms community and client relations manager Paula Rodriguez
South Africa agrophotovoltaic projects
The fusion of agriculture and solar power can boost sustainable development. Integrating solar power
with agricultural practices can reduce demand for wood energy while creating low carbon economies.
“For example, elevated solar photovoltaic panels are used to shelter crops planted beneath, referred to as agrophotovoltaic projects. This can increase yields while conserving the land space used for solar panels in confined urban spaces”Requier Wait - Senior researcher with the South African-based Institute for Security Studies
South African farmers now have the opportunity to access reliable solar energy, thanks to a partnership between a renewable concern, Jaguar New Energies, and a Dutch government-supported fund. Set-up costs will be covered by the clean energy fund and this will enable farmers to have access to cheaper, clean energy while making a quicker transition to a reliable and consistent power source. Due to these massive green energy rollouts, South African maize production in 2020 is projected to be more than 30% higher than in previous years.
Tanzanian-based mini grid operator Jumeme, serves as a model that showcases the broad benefits to local communities of investment in renewable energy and fish farming.
Jumeme runs a pilot project that buys fish from local fishermen, processing and freezing them using its
own renewable power onsite and then selling the fish to distributors across Tanzania. Fishermen have reaped benefits from this green initiative as they now have access to bigger markets with higher prices in turn.
"The use of mini grids could be a solution to farmers’ inability to access pricey solar kits for their farms, especially where farmers are clustered or in reasonable proximity of each other." Jumeme head of sales and marketing Robert Wang’oe
In September 2020, the European Commission launched a €1 billion call for research and innovation projects that respond to the climate crisis and help protect Europe's unique ecosystems and biodiversity. The Horizon 2020-funded European Green Deal Call will spur Europe's recovery from the coronavirus crisis by turning green challenges into innovation opportunities. More information about this can be found in the press release.
The EU Delegation to the African Union is organising a Webinar on the 26th October to answer questions related to this call. To register for a Webinar, please go here: https://eutoau.blumm.it/event/ar/1/evento
Co-hosted by FAO and the Alliance to End Hunger to learn about the actions needed to promote more resilient and sustainable food systems for improved global food security and nutrition.
Five years after the world committed to end hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, we are significantly off track to achieve this objective by 2030. If we are to realize these targets before the end of this decade, we need to urgently build far more resilient and sustainable food systems to provide healthy, safe, affordable, sufficient and nutritious food for a rapidly growing planet. We must also ensure and improve soil health, as healthy soils are the basis for healthy food production. This shift will also enable us to better withstand and recover from shocks such as COVID-19, to conserve our finite natural resources and to more effectively mitigate the effects of a changing climate.
Rob Bertram, Chief Scientist in USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security
Vimlendra Sharan, Director, FAO’s Liaison Office for North America
Dr. Rattan Lal, 2020 World Food Prize Laureate and Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and founding Director of the Carbon Management & Sequestration Center at the Ohio State University
Barbara Stinson, President, the World Food Prize Foundation
Lawrence Haddad, CEO of GAIN and 2018 World Food Prize Laureate
Martin Frick, Deputy to the Special Envoy for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 at United Nations
Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO
Rev. David Beckmann, Former President of Bread for the World Institute and 2010 World Food Prize Laureate
To meet the challenge of biodiversity loss and climate change, the world needs a whole-of-society response, and it needs it fast. “You need a sense of urgency. If we are brutally honest, we have to admit that in the general public, the biodiversity crisis does not have the same sense of urgency as the climate crisis or the COVID crisis,” (15:55) cautioned Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice-President for the Green Deal. “We need to use all our efforts to increase the sense of urgency.” Ideas generated in the debate included: overhauling farm and trade policy to promote biodiversity; labelling rules that allow consumers to choose biodiversity-friendly products; expanding the range of plant and animal varieties used in agriculture.
Highlights of the session included:
8:44 – Climate-smart and biodiversity-smart policies also have to drive jobs and growth; the fiscal debt we’re leaving for the future cannot be accompanied by an environmental debt (Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme)
13:59 – Friends of Europe’s #EuropeMatters citizens’ poll shows 49% of Europeans want the EU to prioritise the environment and a sustainable future. (Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Insights at Friends of Europe)
25:59 – business leaders understand the threats from biodiversity loss, especially in agriculture, and are working to address issues such as soil fertility, product diversity (Emmanuel Faber, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Danone)
On the occasion of the EU’s recent Communication ‘Towards a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa’ and the AU-EU Summit (initially planned for 24-26 October 2020 - but cancelled and postponed to 2021), the LEAP4FNSSA project organised a webinar on how science and innovation partnerships in FNSSA (Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture) can significantly contribute to the creation of rural jobs and sustainable economic growth.
Recent strategic policies from both Africa and Europe underline the important role of research, innovation and higher education for economic growth and job creation. R&I can be a motor for sustainable transformation. But the potential is often not fully realized, due to limited scope, fragmentation and working in silos.
The webinar discusses how cooperation between continents and actors can catalyze the effects on economic growth, agricultural markets, job creation and food businesses.
Nienke Buisman | European Commission RTD; Head of Unit International Cooperation - More impact by joining forces – the role of the EU-AU R&I partnership
Vincent Castel | African Development Bank’s manager overseeing agriculture in North Africa - Investing in the future – how financial institution can join hands with funders of R&I to foster economy and job creation
Edouard Lehmann | Research & Innovation Manager COLEACP - Transforming the economy – the collaboration with R&I initiatives and the role of multi actor platforms. (Private Sector)
Upcoming event:
28-29 October 2020.LEAP4FNSSA West Africa Workshop The Workshop “Dialogue for action and Brokerage in West Africa” will take place virtually on 28th -29th of October 2020.
Strengthening Europe-Africa partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) and linking small businesses to existing research and innovation hubs, to test solutions with research funding opportunities and to fuel innovation, are the main objectives of the event.
The event will be divided in four thematic sessions and will involve farmers’ associations, research institutions, donors and policy makers. Special attention will be dedicated to 25 young innovators (previously selected through a specific “call for innovative ideas” carrying their solutions to mitigate the socio-economic and environmental impacts of pandemics on FNSSA.
Related:
21 April 2020. LEAP4FNSSA webinar. Empowering the community through Inclusiveness and engagement in the Food and Nutrition Security, and Sustainable Agriculture Sector | webinar A reflection on the report “Empowering youth to engage in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems”.
Additional resources and background
PRIORITIES FOR AFRICA’S FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY POST-COVID-19. A contribution from the Task Force Rural Africa (TFRA) to the AU-EU Summit, October 2020. August 2020 English (415.9 KB - PDF), 15 pages
The European Green Deal (EGD) has an important agri-food and rural economy dimension, through its Farm-to-Fork (F2F) Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy and the next reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Food and nutrition security has become of such fundamental political, economic and social importance that it must be at the centre of all future policy and planning.
The development of the ‘NATURAFRICA’ concept, proposed by the EU Commission, aims to consolidate the biodiversity in large landscapes in Africa, through the promotion of the ‘Green Economy’ with a high degree of inclusiveness with the local communities.
This year was supposed to be crucial for Africa-Europe relations, culminating in the sixth AU-EU Summit, scheduled for 28 and 29 October in Brussels. But then COVID-19 happened. After a long palaver, a decision was finally taken: the summit will be postponed to 2021, although a date still needs to be fixed. (ECDPM 14/09: The AU-EU Summit didn’t prove immune to COVID-19 – but that may be a blessing in disguise)
Within the framework of the German EU Council Presidency, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller, together with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, hosted an informal meeting of EU Development Ministers on 29 September. One important topic will be the EU’s future relations with the neighbouring continent - Africa. The meeting will also serve to prepare the Formal Meeting of EU Development Ministers in November. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will take place virtually.
15 October 2020. The AFMASS Food Expo Sustainable Brewing & Drinks in Africa webinar will delve into how the alcoholic and soft beverages sector in Africa has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the future outlook of the industry, including in the following key areas:
Operations & Trade Outlook – the future outlook of the alcoholic and soft beverage sector in Africa; and how the pandemic has and will impact local,
regional and international trade.
Technology & Innovations Outlook:some of the latest technologies and innovations that alcoholic and soft beverage companies in Africa can adopt to mitigate the risks brought by the pandemic now and into the future to improve nutritional profile of their products while enhancing efficiency and profitability of their operations.
Sustainability Outlook: ideas, technologies and practices that can boost sustainability throughout the supply chain in the alcoholic and soft beverage industry in
Africa during and post Covid-19
Investments Outlook:the possible impacts of the Covid-19 on the investments environment in the brewing and drinks industry in Africa; and possible strategies to attract investments and financing into the industry during the pandemic and beyond.
Regulatory Outlook: the guidelines and regulations that the alcoholic and soft beverage industry may institute to improve personnel safety, consumer health and the industry’s sustainability for the future.
Speakers
NITIN MENON Group General Manager – Sayona Fruits, Tanzania
APIWE NXUSANI-MAWELA Founder & BrewMaster – Brewsters Craft, South Africa
ALEX CHAPPATTE Founder – Savannah Brands, Kenya When she arrived in Kenya two and a half years ago, she felt there was a gap in quality local beverage products in the alcohol space. She launched Kenyan Originals to address this gap.
DUNCAN KIMANI
Director of Manufacturing – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, Ethiopia
FOOD 2030 hosted this high-level event on World Food Day, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and the German EU presidency. The title of the event was “FOOD 2030 – Transforming food systems through Research & Innovation”.
It brought together researchers, innovators, policy makers, actors, stakeholders and civil society for a participatory discussion on the transition to sustainable food systems and, in particular, on the key role of research and innovation therein.
The European Commission has launched its Research & Innovation (R&I) policy framework FOOD2030 in 2016 as a systemic approach to tackling challenges related to our food and nutrition with R&I policies designed to make food systems more sustainable, resilient, diverse and competitive, and to bring them back in a safe and just operating space. It aims to do so by providing solutions to four overarching priorities: Nutrition for sustainable and healthy diets; Climate-smart and environmentally sustainable food systems; Circular and resource efficient food systems; Food systems innovation and empowering communities.
John BELL (European Commission, DG Research & Innovation, Director Healthy Planet)
Rodrigo DE LAPUERTA MONTOYA (FAO, Director Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium)
Anja KARLICZEK (German Federal Minister of Education and Research)
Food System Transformation in Action
Discussing food system transformation with John BELL
Testimonials from young researchers and innovators:
Daria WOHLT (Team Member of ByProFood)
Lucrecia BELLIDO (Members of the Team for H2Grow)
Philipp MERK & Adrian KAPSALIS (Founders of Loewi)
Keynote: How Can R&I Accelerate the Ongoing Food Systems Transformation Towards Sustainability?
Prof. Dr. Joachim VON BRAUN (Director of the Department of Economic and Technological Change at the Center of Development Research at Bonn University, Chair of the Scientific Group for the UN Food System Summit)
Panel Debate
Nathalie CHAZE (European Commission, DG Health and Food Safety, Director Food sustainability, international relations)
Martin FRICK (Deputy to the Special Envoy for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 at United Nations)
Diane HOLDORF (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Managing Director Food & Nature)
Emma CHOW (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Lead Food Initiative)
Irène TOLLERET (Member of the European Parliament, co-chair of the Wine, Spirits and quality Foodstuffs Intergroup and co-founder of the European Food Forum)
Closing Remarks
Mariya GABRIEL (EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth) John BELL (European Commission, DG Research & Innovation, Director Healthy Planet)
Agriculture accounts for 14 % of GHG emissions. Emissions from soil exposure and use of natural or synthetic fertilizers and wastes also add up. But emissions reduction could earn business revenues. So how can scaling low-carbon agriculture practices raise business bottom-line?
Prof. Kumar Vijay
Indian Institute of Tech, New Delhi
Solape Hammond
SA (SDGs), Lagos State, Nigeria
Jan Willem Van Es
Amelia AgroAfrica, Uganda
Kola Masha
CEO, Babban Gona
Ayodeji Balogun
CEO, AFEX Commodities
This side session to the World Food Prize’s annual Borlaug Dialogues - connected insights from government leaders and advisors, development finance institutions, with agribusiness, investor and sovereign wealth/pension fund perspectives.
This session shared insights from key role players in African agriculture, including public, private and civil society, and explore ways to unlock scale in recovery and rebuilding efforts for long term African agricultural growth and resilience to climate and disease impacts.
The objective was to identify key impediments and explore what is needed to accelerate direct investment in large agriculture and food ‘flagship’ and ‘greenfield’ projects, that can generate economic growth, improve local and regional food security and jobs, and provide export opportunities.
Identify key impediments to scale and rapidity on both sides, and explore what additional information and actions are needed to unblock these.
Make clear the information and enablers that private investors and value-chain actors need from governments to make an investment commitment in these types of investment.
Understand stakeholder priorities for large-scale investment projects in the agriculture and food sector, and what governments can do to accelerate private-sector investment into these large projects.
The panel discussed governments’ expectations and experience in trying to attract investment in their country’s agriculture sector, as well as lessons on the opportunities and challenges to investment in African agriculture.
Ms. Katrin Glatzel, Director Policy Innovation, Akademiya2063
Mr. Lloyd Le Page, Senior Adviser for Agriculture and Food Investment, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Mr Ousmane Badiane, Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural
Economists AKADEMIYA2063 was established to continue and expand the portfolio of policy research and capacity strengthening support for the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) which was initiated and incubated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) over the past 15 years.
Mr. Ibrahim Gourouza-Magagi, Chief Operating Officer, GrowAfrica.
Ms. Atsuko Toda Director, Agricultural Finance and Rural Infrastructure Development Department, African Dev’t Bank.
Mr. Hubert Danso, Chairman, AU Continental Business Network (CBN), CEO Africa investor (Ai), Chairman: AiSWPFF
Mr. Bill Kayonga, Independent Consultant, Former CEO NAEB, MINAGRI Rwanda, Former Amb.to Kenya
Mr Michael Strain, Partner, Clyde & Co Law Firm, UK and Tanzania
Mr Elad Levi, Vice President, Head of Middle East & Africa, Netafim
Mr. Jonathan Said, Head of Inclusive Economic Growth for Africa, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
AKADEMIYA2063, in partnership with AUC, is convening a virtual 2020 ReSAKSS Annual Conference to promote review and dialogue on the role of public policies in ensuring sustainable and resilient agrifood systems and their transformation in Africa. The conference will take place virtually on 3–5 November 2020 under the theme of “Sustaining Africa’s Agrifood System Transformation: The Role of Public Policies.”
AKADEMIYA2063 has developed a broad data, analytics and communications agenda on the impacts of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic among African countries.
The knowledge products are housed and disseminated via AKADEMIYA2063’s online COVID-19 portal. The portal will be updated regularly with publications and resources, including all briefs and bulletins and recordings of webinars and podcasts.
Webinars
8 October 2020. Production Systems Disruption: The Case of Millet in Six Western African Countries
1 October 2020. Trade in Time of Crisis: Domestic Market Disruption and Role of Transborder Trade
24 September 2020. Policies for Rapidly Transforming Agriculture and Food Systems - AKADEMIYA2063 LAUNCH
CFS Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM)
Contribution of 3 in depth reports by André Luzzi, CFS Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) representative, Habitat International Coalition, Brasil
This report is a comprehensive analysis on grassroots experience of impacts of COVID-19, assessment of the policy measures and examples of innovative responses from communities.
It provides an incisive analysis on the urgent responses that the CFS must to take to address COVID-19 crisis. All from the experience and expertise of the peoples’ most affected.
Collective contributions were provided by: CSM constituencies and sub-regions.
Inputs were made by a number of organizations and networks including: Aardeboerconsument, ARWC, Biowatch, CFFACAPE, COODDEFFAGOLF, COPROFAM, ECVC, El Poder del Consumidor, FIAN, ETC Group, FOEI, IFOAM, Focus on the Global South, HIC, ICFS, IITC, IUF, LVC, Oxfam, PROPAC, Redsan-CPLP, Rikkolto, ROPPA, Schola Campesina, Terra Nuova, Solawi, Urgenci, WFFP
This Declaration brings together an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 and the responses of governments on youth, with a youth vision for transforming food systems, and concrete steps for doing so.
This Declaration, prepared by the CSM Youth
Working Group, is the outcome of a
participatory process of sharing experiences,
struggles, visions and solutions.
The youths
engaged in this process represent perspectives
from all CSM constituencies: smallholder
producers, urban food insecure, consumers,
young women, men and non-binary youths,
food and agriculture workers including migrant
and seasonal workers, pastoralist youths,
Indigenous Peoples, fisherfolk, hunters and
gatherers, and students.
They are based in
India, Mozambique, Australia, Canada, Norway,
the Netherlands, Brazil, Puerto Rico, South
Africa, Argentina, Kenya, and the United States.
responses and feminist policy demands. 11 October 2020, 34 pages
This publication is a report of the Women’s Working Group of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) and summarizes research around the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on women in and across the constituencies and regions of the CSM.
From a feminist perspective, the COVID-19 crisis is a global care crisis, where states and governments have failed to prioritize people’s interests, while (transnational) corporations are increasingly capturing and dismantling the public commons to impose their own private interest.
Based on the research, the report summarizes acts of mutual aid and solidarity, as well as negative impacts experienced by women around the world.
Private sector activities, commitments, and issues related to COVID-19 and a position paper on key actions needed
Contribution by Diane Holdorf, Managing Director, Food and Nature, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and CFS Private Sector Mechanism (PSM) representative, based in Geneva, Switzerland,
"These are difficult times to grow, process and retail food. Private sector is working very hard to keep food in people's hands."
This Knowledge Summary identifies critical issues for business response: (i) Provide social protection and life-saving services ; (ii) Sustain the production, trade, retail and consumption of nutritious foods ; (iii) Support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) ; (iv) Take an integrated systems approach to building back better
Companies, governments, development partners and civil society have unique, critical roles to mitigate negative short-term impacts and advance collective efforts to build back better.
This summary sets out the key areas and imperative for business response with recommendations for responsible, effective and collective action.
As entrepreneurs, young people can play a major role in the transformation of agriculture. In developing countries, too few of them currently get the chance. But numerous governments are now creating entrepreneurial agribusiness opportunities through new programs and policies. The private sector, investors and non-profit organizations are also closely involved. Big questions remain to be answered, however. How can the necessary business environment best be strengthened? How can multi-stakeholder initiatives most benefit young people? What is required for sustainable success? This webinar will look at key issues. We’ll be pointing to opportunities, but also examining the constraints and challenges to agri-enterprises in developing countries.
Presenters highlighted key drivers and discuss how governments, non-profits and companies can best strengthen youth entrepreneurship in the agricultural value chain. And as one starting point, the findings of a recent study in Nigeria were presented.
Opening Remarks Simon Winter, Executive Director, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA)
Suresh Babu, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI
Olubunmi Aderinsola Agbato, Chief Executive Officer, Bspice Products and Services Limited, Nigeria -Mohammad Reza Ahmed Khan, Senior Agricultural Marketing Officer, Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), Bangladesh
Rajendra Jog, CEO, Agri Entrepreneur Growth Foundation (AEGF), India -Patrice Mirindi, Entrepreneur Support Associate, Anzisha Prize
Yuan Zhou, Head of Agricultural Policy and China Program, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainble Agriculture (SFSA) Moderator -Nandita Srivastava, Research Analyst, IFPRI
Take stock of the global food security situation guided by the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2020 report and the CFS High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report on Building a Global Narrative towards 2030;
Reflect on the impacts of COVID-19 on global food security and nutrition and efforts needed to “build back better” using the HLPE issues paper on Impacts of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition: Developing Effective Policy Responses to Address the Hunger and Malnutrition Pandemic; and
Discuss the draft CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition and the draft CFS Policy Recommendations on Agroecological and Other Innovative Approaches, and consider their relevance to the objectives of the UN Food Systems Summit.
PLENARY 1
Overview of the Global Food Security and Nutrition Situation
Both the SOFI 2020 Report and the CFS High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report on Building a Global Narrative towards 2030 recognize the need to transform food systems to achieve the SDGs.
Part 1: Opening Ceremony
Welcome remarks and event overview by Thanawat Tiensin, CFS Chairperson
Framing remarks by Heads of the Rome-based Agencies on their role in global food
security and nutrition and their collaborative commitment to CFS
»
Qu Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
»
Gilbert Houngbo, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
»
David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 SOFI 2020 Report presentation by
Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO
Cost of achieving SDG-2 targets by 2030. Presentation of Ceres2030 project by Carin
Smaller, Director, Agriculture, Trade and Investment International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD)
Research at the heart of transformation by Kundhavi Kadiresan, Managing Director,
Global Engagement and Innovation, CGIAR
PARTNER EVENT 3 Title: Connecting Agroecological and Integrated Policies in Times of Crisis Organizers: • Senegal • Switzerland • Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Mexico • German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development • IFOAM-Organics International • Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development
Video recording forthcoming
The main purpose of this partner event was to showcase such good policy practices, illustrating the key role of policymakers as agents of change when it comes to the long-term and resilient transformation of food and agricultural systems. Our goal is to connect these efforts through the Food Policy Forum for Change in order to increase learning between policymakers, as well as enriching the discussion on the role and instruments for country-level action to deliver food security and nutrition.
Objectives:
a deeper understanding of existing approaches and instruments to operationalise agroecological elements at the policy level,
exchange of practical knowledge on agroecological policies (e.g. identification of barriers and success factors),
connecting existing frameworks available for supporting the policy for agroecological and food systems transformation,
increased awareness of the need for redesigning our current food and socioeconomic systems to include resilience on a long term by applying agroecological principles in policymaking.
Speakers:
Moderated by Frank Eyhorn, Executive Director of Biovision, the speakers and panelists are:
Dr. Maria Tekülve, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
Pio Wennubst, Permanent Representative, of Switzerland to FAO/IFAD/WFP
Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Senegal to FAO/IFAD/WFP
Dr. Vijay Kumar, Head of Department of Natural Farming, Andhra Pradesh, India
Emma Siliprandi, FAO Scaling Up Agroecology Initiative Team Leader
Louise Luttikholt, Executive Director, IFOAM – Organics International
This book is an overall assessment on what has been achieved in the past 10 years in the global food system
The book’s 40 authors (including Hans R. Herren (former co-president of the IAASTD), Benny Haerlin (food and farming activist and NGO-representative in the IAASTD bureau), each experts in their field, take stock of the first decade after publication of the UN and World Bank led International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD).
They review key global developments in agriculture and nutrition and the course of discussions about our food systems as reflected in major international reports and UN agreements between 2009 and 2019.
An advisory Group of former IAASTD authors identified eight key messages they draw from the evidence.
This briefing is based on the research of a background report developed by CIDSE and Nina Moeller at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) of Coventry University.
As prominent public investors, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the European Union (EU), European countries (EU Member States and others), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have the potential to play a big role in supporting the transformation of our food systems.
Marie de Lattre-Gasquet (CIRAD) cosigne avec Jacques Brulhet, Michel Dron, Jean-Louis Rastoin et Papa Abdoulaye Seck le chapitre "Crise du Covid-19 et sécurité alimentaire en Afrique"
