FAO Science and Innovation Strategy and its relevance for the Committee on Agriculture (COAG)

21 July 2022. 12:15 PM CEST FAO Science and Innovation Strategy and its relevance for the Committee on Agriculture (COAG)

• Concept note and agenda
• Webcast

The side event raised awareness among Members and COAG participants on FAO’s first-ever Science and Innovation Strategy and its relevance for COAG. The event will facilitate a discussion on topics relevant to COAG. Four topics have been selected: science and innovation for climate change, science and innovation for livestock, strengthening the science-policy interface, and promoting access of small-scale producers to innovations.

With an enhanced understanding of the ScI Strategy's goal, pillars, outcomes, and guiding principles, COAG Members will be better positioned to strengthen synergies between science and innovation and the work of COAG.

• Opening remarks Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General 
• The FAO Science and Innovation Strategy and its relevance for COAG Dr Ismahane Elouafi, FAO Chief Scientist 

HIGH-LEVEL PANEL DISCUSSION: EXPLORING SYNERGIES BETWEEN COAG’S PRIORITIES AND THE FAO SCIENCE AND INNOVATION STRATEGY 

• Science and innovation for livestock H.E. Julián Andrés Domínguez, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Republic of Argentina 
• Science and innovation for climate change Dr Chavonda Jacobs-Young, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, the USA 
• Strengthening the science-policy interface H.E. Thesele John ‘Maseribane, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Lesotho to FAO 
• Promoting access of small-scale producers to innovations Mr Douglas Kangi, Director of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, the Republic of Kenya 
• Questions and answers Dr Zitouni Ould-Dada, Deputy Director, FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment 
• WRAP-UP AND CLOSING Dr Ismahane Elouafi, FAO Chief Scientist

Resource:

FAO (2022) FAO Science and Innovation Strategy May 2022 # 18 p.

Extracts:

Scientific findings may be limited by insufficient data, uncertainties, contrasting results, and can be contested. Decision-making is often influenced by a variety of both structural and behavioral drivers and barriers as well as numerous stakeholders with diverse values and with significant power asymmetries. (page 8)

• In 2020, the first-ever position of Chief Scientist was established to join the core leadership team of the Director-General. A new Office of Innovation was also created to ensure that FAO leverages the use of innovation, technology and new approaches across the Organization.
• As host of the Food Systems Coordination Hub, FAO has a key role in the UN Food Systems Summit follow-up, including through its work on science and innovation.
• FAO has an important role in supporting the essential contribution of national, regional and international research organizations. FAO’s Governing and Statutory Bodies provide an interface for science and policy. Finally, FAO has an important role in analysing and communicating the latest scientific evidence to Members and the public.

The Strategy focuses on three pillars, which group together nine outcomes. Action under the pillars will be catalysed by two cross-cutting enablers: transformative partnerships and innovative funding and financing. 

The 3 pillars of the FAO Science and Innovation Strategy

1. Strengthening science and evidence-based decision-making; 

• Agrifood systems knowledge and evidence enhanced. Countries will be supported to better prepare for alternative plausible futures by strengthening strategic participatory foresight, and continuous, rigorous, and systematic horizon scanning and scenario-building exercises.
• Science-policy interfaces for agrifood systems strengthened. FAO will strive to provide understanding of the differences of view on contentious scientific issues, and help to explain areas of disagreement in order to support continued dialogue and convergence. In support of open dialogue, FAO will consider in its analyses the varied and sometimes competing needs, goals and interests of different agrifood system actors
• Research for development strengthened. FAO will strengthen its cooperation with national, regional and international agrifood research organizations, such as CGIAR and AIRCA,42 and relevant global inter-governmental organizations, to maximize collective impact while leveraging the comparative advantages and building on the institutional strengths of each partner organization.

2. Supporting innovation and technology at regional and country level

• Access to, and use of, inclusive, sustainable, affordable and context-specific innovations and technologies by small-scale producers, family farmers and other agrifood system actors enhanced.
• Capacities of national agrifood innovation systems to prioritize, co-create, and scale sustainable and appropriate innovations and technologies strengthened.
  FAO will assist countries in increasing the capacity of agrifood innovation systems for the co-creation, local adaptation and uptake of innovations through a rigorous approach to the prioritization of innovations and technologies. (...)  FAO will support the establishment and strengthening of national and regional innovation platforms and hubs for knowledge sharing and capacity development for innovation.
• National capacity to design, implement and evaluate strategies, policies and regulatory frameworks on science, technology and innovation strengthened.
  

3. Serving Members better by reinforcing FAO’s capacities.

• Knowledge management and exchange of information and experiences enhanced. Knowledge management will be designed to facilitate capturing project evaluations and feeding this into the design of new innovation-focused projects.
• Science communication improved. Special attention will be given to communication on contentious issues. 
• FAO capacities to enable science and innovation enhanced across the Organization. FAO will strengthen the use of science and innovation across its programme of work, with particular attention to country offices.

Enablers: Partnerships and innovative funding and financing

Transformative partnerships. 

Private sector partnerships will be enhanced – with special attention to MSMEs and entrepreneurs, start-ups and incubators (particularly women and youth). FAO will engage with private sector-led innovations and harness them to achieve the four betters through open innovation initiatives, challenges, dedicated grants, prizes, etc.

Innovative funding and financing

Through the innovation and technology accelerators, FAO will mainstream science and innovation into all its projects, thus harnessing climate and environmental funding, South-South and Triangular Cooperation, emergency and resilience funding and investments raised through the FAO Investment Centre for science and innovation.