Agrifood systems are being reshaped not only by the pressures of crises, scarcities, inequalities, and volatilities, but also by the knowledge we choose to act on. Data has long been regarded as a strategic asset for governance, yet in many agrifood systems, access to it remains uneven, disconnected from decision-making, or isolated in institutional silos. Beyond just producing more data, the challenge today is about transforming how knowledge is created and what counts as evidence, how information is shared and used across stakeholders, from smallholder farmers to city and state officials. This is a core message of the third and final session of FAO’s 2025 Governance Learning Series, held virtually on 24 June 2025.

“Creating the spaces to connect people and to ensure that all actors, including the smallholder and marginalized groups, can access, share and use data, knowledge and information is instrumental in our journey towards more effective, sustainable and equitable agrifood systems,” emphasized Máximo Torero, FAO’s Chief Economist, in his opening remarks. “When we bring actors together, we create a space not only for sharing knowledge but also for articulating demands, shaping priorities, and building a shared vision.”

The session, titled Harnessing Data and Knowledge for Sustainable Agrifood Systems Governance, explored the ways institutional learning and grassroots capacity development can bridge the persistent gaps between information, power, and action. Issues of data quality, trust, access, ownership, and the capacity to interpret, spread and apply knowledge were central to the discussions. Each of the three case studies presented – India’s Kerala Food Platform, the Cooperative Alliance of Kenya’s user-driven data systems and New York City’s Good Food Purchasing initiative – demonstrated that data and knowledge governance can shape who benefits from agrifood transformation, and who risks being left behind.