New Food System Integrated Program to support the transformation of food systems into nature-positive, resilient, and pollution free system
The world continues to face challenges to meet food and nutrition needs of existing 8 billion people equitably, and to ensure that nature, on which food production is based, is protected and enhanced to meet needs of future generation. Currently, at least 38% of the world’s total land area is under agriculture[i] production, and agricultural production accounts for up to 90% of global deforestation[ii]; and 50% of the freshwater biodiversity loss[iii]; and 70% of global freshwater withdrawals[iv]. According to a new study, food systems about third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions[v]). The consequences of unsustainable food production extend into aquatic systems. This makes agriculture the largest source of water pollution, which then runs off into aquatic ecosystems and coastal areas.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of UN (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are developing a global program to support selected nations to catalyze the transformation to sustainable food systems that are nature-positive, resilient, and pollution-reduced. This program – Food Systems Integrated Program – will be funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and co-financed by countries, GEF agencies and other partners. The Food Systems Integrated Program is the second largest program approved in the GEF’s programming cycle for 2022 – 2026, known as GEF-8. FAO and IFAD aim to align the program with the outcomes of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and collaborate with partners, such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Nature Conservancy, and the Regional Development Banks to deliver greater results.
The Food Systems Integrated Program will focus explicitly on sustainable, regenerative, nature positive production systems and support efficient value/supply chains covering selected food crops (maize, rice, and wheat), commercial commodities (soy, oil palm, coffee and cocoa), livestock, and aquaculture.
To maximize potential for transformative change, the Program will operate at two levels -global and selected national/sub-national levels - and promote work around transformational “levers” (governance and policies, financial leverage, multi-stakeholder dialogues, and innovation and learning) for advancing systems transformation.
At the global level, the Program will support:
- Strengthening global policy coherence for more sustainable food systems.
- Leveraging public, private and financial sectors through encouraging concrete actions on both the production and demand sides toward use and expansion of sustainability standards and commitments to environmental and socially responsible sourcing.
- Catalyzing new opportunities across spatial (landscapes/ jurisdictions) or vertical (supply chain) dimensions to help maximize scale potential for impact within and beyond national boundaries.
- Catalyzing access to knowledge, technical expertise, and capacity development on issues that represent common challenges across multiple countries or specific geographical regions (including south-south exchanges).
At the country level, and depending on the context, the objectives of the projects are:
- Creating an enabling environment to shift toward sustainable and regenerative food production systems through a diversity of approaches.
- Reducing livestock’s impact on the environment and contribution to zoonotic spillover and supporting production of alternative protein sources.
- Expanding investment in sustainable aquaculture management that is explicitly linked to land-based practices, impacting freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems.
GUIDING QUESTIONS TO THE ONLINE CONSULTATION
As a part of program development, FAO and IFAD, in consultation with the GEF and other key partners have developed the Theory of Change (TOC) and the Draft Results Framework for the Program.
The Food Systems Integrated Program development team invites your views and suggestions on these two documents.
Theory of Change:
1 |
Do the barriers identified reflect your experience as Community Based Organizations (CBOs) / Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), private sector and local communities (women, men, youth, indigenous peoples)? Are there key barriers that are missing in TOC? |
2 |
Do the first level Outcomes appropriate and adequate for transformation of food systems’ impacts on the environment? |
Draft Results Framework:
3 |
Are the Outcomes planned appropriate and adequate for food systems transformation? |
4 |
What could be examples of types of intervention and outputs that could ensure stronger engagement and ensure capacities of CBOs/ NGOs, the private sector, and communities (including women, men, and youth, indigenous peoples) to continue food systems transformation? |
5 |
What might be specific contributions of each stakeholder group to the achievement of the components? |
In addition, the Program development team seeks inputs on your experiences and advice on:
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Note: The two documents are available for downloading on this webpage and comments are welcome in English.
The inputs received will contribute to finalize the Theory of Change and the Results Framework for the Food Systems Integrated Program. Furthermore, both documents will be presented to the GEF Council, most probably in June 2023 for their approval and these will guide country child projects in Argentina, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Eswatini, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Türkiye.
We thank in advance all the contributors for reading, commenting, providing inputs on these two documents, and sharing case studies.
Sameer Karki
Technical Officer with the FAO-GEF Coordination Unit under the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment of FAO
[ii] https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/cop26-agricultural-expansion-drives-almost-90-percent-of-global-deforestation/en
[iii] https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/global-food-security-at-risk-from-growing-threats-to-rivers-which-support-one-third-of-world-s-food-production
[v] https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1379373/icode/
The Food Systems Integrated Program was approved in February 2024, and the documentation is now public here: https://www.thegef.org/projects-operations/projects/11214
- Read 64 contributions
-For a more resilient and sustainable food system, the main goal is decarbonizing the food value chain, defining how farmers reducing greenhouse gas emissions and involving companies throughout the food value chain. -Reduce the environmental impact of agriculture through digitally enabled precision application and new innovative crop protection products with more favorable environmental profiles. --Regulatory frameworks and policy initiatives to promote and incentivize innovative sustainable packaging to offer maximum functionality with the best possible product protection, avoiding health and safety risks, cause minimal ecological impact, and be as circular as possible.
1. Support awareness creation and advocacy to policy makers to promote friendly policies for upscaling organic agriculture value chain.
2. Develop and strengthening capacity of youth and women in Organic Agricultural practices principles and entrepreneurship to create wealth and employment to achieve sustainable food production.
Support rural communities in establishing organic agriculture commercial farms of produce and industries.
Promote regional trade of organic agriculture produce and product.
Objectif principal de la contribution : L'eau pour le développement durable : valoriser l'eau, le lien eau-énergie-alimentation et le développement économique et urbain durable.
L'alimentation est un élément clé des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) du Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030. L'objectif de développement durable n°2 vise à éliminer la faim, à assurer la sécurité alimentaire, à améliorer la nutrition et à promouvoir l’agriculture durable.
Soulignant que l’eau est essentielle au développement durable et à l’élimination de la pauvreté et de la faim, les États Membres de l’ONU se sont déclarés profondément préoccupés par le manque d’accès à l’eau potable, à l’assainissement et à l’hygiène et par les catastrophes liées à l’eau, la rareté et la pollution exacerbées par l’urbanisation, la croissance démographique, la désertification, la sécheresse et les changements climatiques.
- 3 personnes sur 10 n’ont pas accès à des services d’eau potable gérés de manière sûre et 6 personnes sur 10 n’ont pas accès à des installations sanitaires gérées de manière sûre.
- Au moins 892 millions de personnes continuent à pratiquer la défécation à l’air libre.
- Les femmes et les filles sont responsables de la collecte de l’eau dans 80% des ménages sans accès à l’eau sur place.
- Entre 1990 et 2015, la proportion de la population mondiale utilisant une source d’eau potable améliorée a augmenté de 76% à 90%
- La pénurie d’eau affecte plus de 40% de la population mondiale et devrait augmenter. Plus de 1,7 milliard de personnes vivent actuellement dans des bassins fluviaux où l’utilisation de l’eau est supérieure à la quantité disponible
Alors que des progrès substantiels ont été accomplis pour augmenter les services d’approvisionnement en eau potable et d’assainissement, des milliards de personnes, principalement dans les zones rurales, n’ont toujours pas accès à ces services de base. Dans le monde, une personne sur trois ne bénéficie pas d’une eau potable gérée en toute sécurité, deux personnes sur cinq ne disposent pas d’une installation de base pour se laver les mains avec de l’eau et du savon, et plus de 673 millions de personnes pratiquent encore la défécation à l’air libre.
Selon les estimations publiées par la FAO, le monde n’est plus en voie de mettre un terme à la faim et à la malnutrition sous toutes ses formes d’ici à 2030. Dans le même temps, la sécurité alimentaire et l'état nutritionnel des populations les plus vulnérables sont susceptibles de se détériorer davantage en raison des répercussions socio-économiques et sanitaires de la pandémie de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19).
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find my contribution for the current topic
1. Special packages for poor farmers who grows minor millets, vegetables and fruits. Free supply of seeds and fertilizers and ensuring buy back system.
2. When government is supplying free seeds of any food crop to farmers, let it be mixed with minor millets, leafy vegetable seeds, oil crop seeds in it. Then farmers will grow it and will harvest different crops, which are nutritional and it will get them extra incomes.
3. Some of countries like India are supplying grains at low prices to poor people. Instead of supplying whole grains, let the government introduce both whole grain and also the flour containing cereals, pulses and oil crops. People will make nutritious bread, chapatti, any food recipe out of that, which is nutritious.
4. Women are the custodians of food practices, let the government involve women in all policy making decisions.
5. Develop area wise agriculture plans to ensure to demand and supply of nutrient food crops within the area, to minimize the costs of production and transport.
6. Develop the good storage and value addition activities to ensure the food supply throughout the year.
7. Bring very strict laws to stop food wastage at hotels, during functions and ceremonies.
8. Fix the food quantities at hotels, in most of the hotels they supply huge quantities of food, which cannot eaten by single person to get more money from him. Hence strict laws should be brought to minimize these food wastage.
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