Food systems governance reform and food systems multi-stakeholder mechanisms (MSMs) have been recognized as key interventions during the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) and the related Summit Member State Dialogues and National Pathways.

Meeting global demand for healthy and nutritious food in ways that are equitable, efficient and sustainable requires solutions that are customized to local needs and realities. To achieve significant change in food systems, coordinated and large-scale actions by different stakeholders across countries are fundamental.

This session will dive into several Member State UNFSS Food Systems Dialogue processes, including cases in which existing SFS MSMs were involved in the Dialogue process, and cases in which, on the contrary, they were not.

What can be learned from these experiences? What were the motivations for the different decisions? What was the nature, status, and reputation of these countries’ MSMs that may have motivated the different choices? Did differences in each SFS MSM’s mandate, funding, relationships to other institutions or other characteristics determine its readiness for involvement in the UNFSS Dialogues process? Had the SFS MSMs participated in other policy processes before, and if so, in which? Was maturity a factor?