Picture of the 1^st workshop in April 21 which started the whole subprogramme, co-organized by FAO, UNEP and UNDP under the umbrella of the OnePlanet Network.

The Norwegian Cooperation, through the FAO Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM) funds since 2020 the “Governance Innovations for Sustainable Development of Food Systems” subprogramme.

The subprogramme supports Indonesia, Tanzania and Uganda in developing/strengthening innovative governance mechanisms for better coordinated interventions, policy integration and participation to advance food systems transformation and healthy diets for all. It seeks to enable more comprehensive and scalable multi-sectoral actions across three main pillars of food systems: sustainable food production, value creation and markets, and improved nutrition and diets – all within a comprehensive governance framework.

In preparation to the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) held in September 2021 as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), National Food Systems Dialogues (FSSD) were organized in almost all UN countries, allowing concerned actors to identify priorities for achieving sustainable food systems. They resulted in the commitment towards national food systems transformation pathways submitted by Countries at the UNFSS.

Together with the UN family, the sub-programme supported and facilitated the organization of national and sub-national dialogues in Indonesia, Uganda and Tanzania, consolidating technical background materials, supporting virtual arrangement to allow participation amid the worsening of the pandemic, ore. support the multistakeholder physical events, publishing materials etc.

In Indonesia, under the leadership of the national agency for planning and the Ministry of Agriculture as co-convener, more than 1700 persons representing key food systems actors and their networks participated in 2 national dialogues and 6 sub-national dialogues organized across the country.

The dialogues enabled stakeholders to define a vision for food systems transformation towards healthier, more equitable, sustainable and resilient food systems through capitalizing on the diversity of ecological, socio-economic and cultural reachnes of Indonesian archipelago. They highlighted the need of more inclusive food systems governance, including strengthening the role of sub-national government and local stakeholders key to allow for localizing food systems governance for effective interventions tailored to the specific needs of regions.

Five key priorities and potential game changing solutions were identified: End hunger and improve diets; promote coastal and ocean-based food; protect and restore natural resources; Inclusive business; resilient and local food systems; and Inclusive Governance. Within each defined priority, milestones for 2024, aligned with the National Medium-Term Development Plan targets and the nationally identified SDGs targets, were also set up.

In Uganda, under the leadership of the Office of the Prime Minister as the convener alongside the National Planning Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries as co-conveners, around 3000 people representing a wide range of state and non-state food systems actors participated to a total of eighteen dialogues held across the country, including 2 official National dialogues.

Priorities for food systems transformation in the next 3 years have been identified to meet the commitments to the SDGs. They relate to good governance, healthy diets, small holder farmers’ organizations prioritisation to transition to the money economy, technical (infrastructure and agro-industrialization), social protection and economic support, as well as policy and legal frameworks development, with science, technology and innovation as key to achieve the transformation. Key milestones, in connection with the identified priorities, the existing policy frameworks and the willingness to ensure full stakeholders' participation, are also included in the Pathway timeline, with collective action as the backbone of food systems transformation, to be funded on science, traditional knowledge and sharing of policy choices and capitalizing on existing good practices.

In Tanzania, under the leadership of Minister of Agriculture, over 2000 people participated to 2 National Dialogues and 11 multi-stakeholder thematic decentralized dialogues. Following priorities areas for action to drive transformation emerged:  production and productivity in crop; livestock and Fisheries sub sectors; financing Agriculture and private sector involvement in food systems; nutrition/Heath diets and safe food for all and School feeding programs; climate change adaptation and biodiversity protection; resilient food systems and livelihoods and Cross-cutting issues (gender, environment, equity, political economy...). Each challenge was further prioritized into game-changing actions and milestones for 2025 and 2030.

In the three countries, the mapped national priorities are now being translated into workable national plans, and the subprogramme is fully involved in the follow-up to the Summit in all countries. It will provide additional evidence in Uganda and Indonesia, with analysis and modelling, as well as direct technical assistance for necessary policy review and institutional strengthening to back up operationalization of the pathways in the three countries. The innovative modelling work planned in Indonesia and Uganda is developed in partnership with 4 major research institutions and universities - the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA) - combining technical, economic and political economy analysis and modelling, will analyse food systems performance and map synergies and potential trade-offs across policies and interventions as well as  provide info on realistic political feasibility and potential blockages. Evidence will allow to accelerate results, and strengthen cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder institutional arrangements.

As the programme was initially severely impacted by the restrictions due to the pandemic, major strength for achieving the originally planned results was the enhancing of close support provided as OneFAO and OneUN, as well as the collaboration with a wide range of actors including national institutions, national and international research partners. The project will run until December 2023.