Driving Agrifood System Transformation through Inclusive Governance
Increasingly people live in urban communities and cities. More of the food produced, worldwide, is consumed and wasted in urban areas. As such, city governments have become a key entry point, offering multiple levers of agrifood systems transformation towards increased resilience and sustainability for all.
City governments are essential to public health, sustainability, and community resilience. Their role becomes even more critical in light of widening inequalities driven by urbanization, the increasing consumption of less healthy, convenient, and affordable diets, and the disconnection between urban, peri-urban, and rural food systems at local, territorial, and national levels. The impact of poly-crises—such as climate change, biodiversity loss, land-use changes, and poor public health—further underscores the need for their leadership.
Despite their value, city governments face significant challenges in delivering their mandate, due to the complex intersections with other systems, such as climate and biodiversity, as well as administrative hurdles like technical and financial limitations, competing mandates, and uncoordinated policies.
On Thursday, 24 October 2024, FAO, ICLEI City Food, and GAIN will host the event "Cities as Agents of Change in Agrifood Systems: The Role of Inclusive Multistakeholder Governance from Local to Global Level."
This event will explore how cities can accelerate the transformation of agrifood systems through inclusive governance and partnerships that link local actions with global strategies. To meet these challenges, cities must leverage their governance structures, engage with diverse stakeholders, and lead efforts to create more sustainable and equitable agrifood systems.
The discussion will showcase examples of successful multistakeholder initiatives addressing urban challenges such as food loss and waste, unlocking the value of public food markets, and national government support for urban food and nutrition agendas.
Ultimately, the event will emphasize the need for coordinated action, and effective inclusion, across all levels of governance—from city (local) to national and global—to achieve meaningful progress in transforming agrifood systems.
Event Agenda:
- Date: Thursday, 24 October 2024
- Time: 08:30-09:45 CEST
- Location: Sheikh Zayed Centre, FAO Headquarters (in-person) with online participation
- Organizers: FAO, ICLEI, GAIN
- Translation: for online participants: English - Portuguese
Speakers:
- Corinna Hawkes, Director, Agrifood Systems and Food Safety, FAO
- Zhimin Wu, Director, Forestry Division, FAO
- Jacques Kossowski, Mayor, City of Courbevoie, France
- Grace Kaziya, Director, Department of Housing and Social Services, Lusaka City, Zambia
- Abel Dabula, Head of Programmes, GAIN Mozambique
- Lilian dos Santos Rahal, National Secretary for Food and Nutrition Security, Ministry of Social Development, Brazil
A central theme of the event is the need for a global collaboration that unites urban agrifood system actors. This includes city networks, governments, international organizations, NGOs, and research institutions all working in concert to drive systemic changes. Cities alone cannot solve these challenges, but by fostering inclusive governance and leveraging collective expertise, they can act as powerful catalysts for global transformation.