Barriers include:
- Limited access to decision-makers and policy-makers
- Limited resources for research and dissemination of findings with a bias to informing policy
- Limited understanding of policy-making processes among scientists and other knowledge holders as well as limited involvement of the researchers on policy making and governance
- Limited engagement and collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders
Opportunities include:
- Increasing use of digital technologies to connect scientists and policy-makers
- A joint consultation between scientist/researchers and policy makers should so policy gap analysis is a good opportunity on where to start; which policies are in place, which ones should be enacted what are the bottle necks, what information is missing that needs research done, what scope
- Growing recognition of the importance of evidence-based policy-making
- Increased funding for research on sustainable agrifood systems and involving policy makers in the process
- Growing interest in interdisciplinary research to address complex challenges in agrifood systems
- Growing demand for stakeholder engagement and participation in policy-making processes
- Researcher and scientist should derive their research questions based on challenges policy makers are facing so that once the research is conducted it addresses a specific policy gap in agrifood systems
It is important for scientists and other knowledge holders to proactively engage with policy-makers and other stakeholders, to build relationships, and to communicate their findings in a clear and accessible manner. Additionally, there should be more opportunities for scientists to be embedded in policy-making processes to provide real-time scientific research that speaks to policies within agrifood systems
السيدة Bibiana Muasya