İstanbul, Türkiye – The Regional Conference on Food Systems Sustainability in the Black Sea Region, organized by the Regional Cooperation Centre for Sustainable Food Systems of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC-CSFS), is taking place on 7-8 March in İstanbul, Türkiye. 

The conference will review the current state of agrifood systems in BSEC member states, deliberate on the key findings and lessons from recent national food systems assessments, explore innovative approaches, policy interventions and the next steps needed for agrifood systems transformation with an eye to the United Nations Food Systems Stocktaking Moment in July 2023. 

Funded by Government of the Republic of Türkiye, the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems was established in 2020 by the 13 BSEC member states in the framework of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme (FTPP) to strengthen regional cooperation on sustainable agrifood systems. 

The event will also aim at establishing a regional network for key actors operating in the field of sustainable agrifood systems. Within this context, the SFS-MED Platform, an initiative co-developed by FAO, the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), and the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), will be presented at the Conference as an effective model of multi-stakeholder collaboration to boost food systems transformation at regional level through dialogue, knowledge sharing, and capacity building. 

Corinna Hawkes, the new Director of FAO’s Food Systems and Food Safety Division, is also participating in the Conference, as part of a panel that will discuss the sustainability of food systems and the challenge of empirical measurement. 

Collaboration among different networks and stakeholders through a regional approach is key to effectively tackle the multiple challenges hindering agrifood systems and to foster the adoption of a food systems approach at all levels. Only by encouraging and catalyzing regional cooperation will it be possible to transform agrifood systems in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and beyond, making them more sustainable and resilient. 

Further information at this link