Results

05/05/2026 – Sri Lanka   Turning waste into opportunity    Sri Lanka is positioning itself as a regional hub for circular agrifood innovation and investment opportunities. Faced with rising food waste and post-harvest losses, the country is transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for investment, innovation, and sustainable growth through partnerships that connect government, industry, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and development actors. Sri Lanka generates an estimated 3,963 tonnes of urban food waste daily (FAO/IWMI, 2021). At the same time, significant post-harvest and distribution losses across key value chains, including fruits and vegetables, fisheries, rice, and livestock, continue to result in substantial economic and environmental costs. In the fruits and vegetables sector alone, annual losses are estimated at approximately Rs. 180 billion (Department of Agriculture, Sri...

Private Sector Dialogue Highlights Critical Role of the Private Sector in Advancing Agrifood Transformation and Climate Resilience Across the Near East and North Africa. Private sector entities and development partners convened today for a dialogue on “The Role of the Private Sector in Agrifood Transformation and Climate Resilience in the Near East and North Africa,” bringing together leading voices to examine how businesses can accelerate sustainable agrifood systems transformation in a region facing mounting climate pressures and complex, overlapping crises. Speaking at the opening, senior officials emphasized that agrifood systems in the NENA region are under intense, overlapping pressures - from conflict...

On 29 April 2026, the Private Sector Unit of FAO's Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU) convened the second session of its 2026 Private Sector Brown Bag Lunch series. The virtual discussion, "Investing in Women, Transforming Agrifood Systems: FAO and the Private Sector in the Commit to Grow Equality (CGE) Initiative", engaged over 50 participants from FAO headquarters, regional and country offices, alongside external stakeholders including private sector partners.         Opening the session, Lauren Phillips, Director of PSU, underscored the critical role of multi-stakeholder partnerships in advancing gender equality, bringing together diverse actors to shine a light on private sector efforts to enhance women’s empowerment across agricultural value chains. Moderated by Annamaria Pastore, Private Sector Unit Strategic Coordinator, the discussion brought together colleagues and partners to explore how commitments are being translated into concrete action on the ground.    At the center of...

29/04/2026 - Global  Ahead of the 35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia (ERC35), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened two private sector consultations in Brussels, Belgium, and İzmir, Türkiye. Bringing together agribusinesses, financial institutions, industry associations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the dialogues ensured that private sector perspectives contributed to shaping regional priorities for agrifood systems transformation.  Held on 22 and 29 April 2026, respectively, the consultations aimed to gather inputs to inform ERC35 discussions, strengthen collaboration and present the FAO Strategy for Private Sector Engagement 2026–2030.   Strengthening partnerships across Europe and Central Asia  The Brussels consultation, hosted by the European Dairy Association (EDA), brought together European Union (EU) stakeholders in a forward-looking dialogue on agrifood systems transformation. Opening the...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the European Dairy Association, held a private-sector dialogue today in Brussels, gathering European Union-based companies, industry associations, financial institutions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to shape private-sector inputs for FAO’s upcoming Thirty-fifth Session of the Regional Conference for Europe. Raschad Al-Khafaji, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, welcomed participants to the consultation, underscoring the crucial role of the private sector in transforming agrifood systems. “Today’s exchange is an important opportunity to share views and showcase collaboration,” he said, “while reinforcing the value of continuous dialogue with the private...