Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

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    • Dear FAO colleagues from the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment,

      Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the draft Guidance for Target 10. We appreciate your efforts to develop a comprehensive and inclusive framework for guiding parties in the integration of agrifood systems into the design and effective implementation of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

      This is certainly timely, as it has been the subject of our own concerns since the adoption of the KMBGF. We strongly believe that agroecology, as highlighted in this guidance document co-developed by several actors throughout an extensive consultation process called "Boosting Biodiversity Action through Agroecology" (nbsap.futureoffood.org), offers a practical and transformative pathway to achieve the objectives of Target 10 and related goals. 

      As acknowledged recently in many multilateral processes - including the International Soil and Water Forum 2024, co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Royal Thai Government in Bangkok - transforming food systems is essential to tackling the interconnected challenges of land and soil degradation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, pollution, and the urgent climate threats to food security and nutrition; and that innovative solutions to address these challenges recognize the importance of agroecological principles in maintaining healthy and productive food systems under climate change, protecting soil and water resources while achieving food security.

      By providing concrete, evidence-based recommendations and actionable interventions, Boosting Biodiversity Action through Agroecology aligns with and could enhance the FAO’s draft guidance by addressing critical gaps and implementable policy intervention areas.

      Boosting Biodiversity Action through Agroecology is the result of a collaborative effort led by five leading organizations with decades of experience in food systems and biodiversity: the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Biovision Foundation, WWF, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and the Agroecology Coalition. This resource was developed through an extensive 2-year consultation process, involving experts including government representatives, civil society organizations, farmers groups, Indigenous representatives and business leaders. Colleagues from more than 22 countries were involved in its production, reflecting the expertise and perspectives of diverse groups of actors and geographies.

      Launched at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, the document offers:

      • Compelling evidence of agroecology’s benefits for biodiversity conservation and restoration.
      • Practical advice on mainstreaming agroecology as a food system approach within NBSAPs.
      • 14 agroecological intervention areas spanning production to consumption, addressing multiple GBF Targets. Examples include transitioning to ecological farming practices, fostering seed diversity, and reducing polluting synthetic inputs.
      • Actionable recommendations to support these interventions through robust policies, financing mechanisms, monitoring frameworks, governance rules, and institutional capacity-building.
      • Practical information on the role that agroecology can play in delivering on multiple GBF targets while addressing current and future interconnected challenges in nutrition, health, economic stability, climate mitigation and adaptation, and environmental sustainability.

      For facilitating accessibility and engagement, the guidance is available as an online, user-friendly and interactive microsite available under nbsap.futureoffood.org.

      We have reviewed the Draft Guidance for Target 10 and identified several areas where this guidance  can specifically contribute and be referenced, particularly through case studies and practical examples. These inputs are detailed in the attached Excel Template as requested.

      Additionally, we find it important to maintain consistency with the language already agreed upon in the negotiations. In this respect, the definitions introduced should align with those already included in CBD’s Guidance Notes on KMGBF targets. For example the CBD Guidance Notes for Target 10 included a section called “Relevant resources that can assist implementation”, which lists 48 resources under ‘tools and guidance’. We kindly recommend revisiting this in collaboration with CBD and other interested actors to identify the most useful resources, cluster them thematically, and thereby facilitate their selection and application by parties.

      Lastly, while we commend FAO for initiating this important consultation, we believe that a longer and more interactive consultation process would have enabled broader and deeper engagement, particularly with grassroots organizations. Conducting the consultation over the end-of-year period has limited the ability of many actors to contribute fully. Our organizations have shared this opportunity with dozens of local partners, but additional time would have facilitated greater participation.

      We are happy to provide further input or clarification as needed and look forward to continuing to engage and contribute to this relevant process.

       

      Matheus Alves Zanella
      Senior Advisor, Global Fora,
      on behalf of
      Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Biovision Foundation, WWF International, Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, and Agroecology Coalition

      See the attachments:

    • Dear Madam/Sir,

      Attached please find a contribution of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food for the consultation on the new FAO-IFAD Food System Integrated Program.

      We are a strategic alliance of philanthropic foundations collaborating on bold action to transform food systems. The recommendations expressed in this document are built after years of consultation with our members and based on strong collaboration with a wide range of partners supporting transformations towards healthy, equitable, renewable, resilient, inclusive, diverse, and interconnected food systems.

      Contribution of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food

      Dear Sameer Karki, dear FAO and IFAD teams,

      Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the new FAO-IFAD Food Systems Integrated Program, its Theory of Change (ToC) and the Draft Results Framework.

      As an alliance of philanthropic organizations deeply committed to food system transformation, this global program greatly interests us. We appreciate the systemic approach adopted on its ToC, and the comprehensiveness and ambition of the programme. In the past 10 years, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food has worked on a number of topics associated with levers of food system transformation and we would like to indicate references that might be useful in building the global objectives of this Program.

      Commenting more specifically on the ToC and the questions (1) and (2):

      ● We observe that the fragmentation, limited policy coherence and ultimately unsustainable food system architecture indicated as barriers to transformation is problematized by the lack of integration of different global frameworks and associated national-level plans, i.e. National Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), National Food System Pathways (NFSPs), national food security plans, etc. Reviewing the complementarities of these different global agreements and national-level plans could be useful in reducing institutional fragmentation;

      ● We appreciate the indication of inadequate valuation of true costs and benefits of food systems as one of the main barriers to transformation. As indicated in the Draft Results Framework, there has been great efforts in developing True Cost Accounting and other methodologies to properly address these. The True Cost Accounting Accelerator has been building a number of resources (tools, frameworks, implementation guidance, case studies, etc.) that can support the implementation of this approach;

      ● We also appreciate the focus on improving the accessibility and availability of financing to food system transformation, particularly by supporting viable business models for transition to sustainable practices. We have identified that there are enormous untapped opportunities to finance food system transformation from a climate perspective, and that there is an urgent need to align food system finance and climate objectives. Additionally, more emphasis could be placed on redirecting financial flows away from harmful practices, and working together to better align public and private finance, creating greater impact. This has been one of the focus of the discussions on finance at the conferences of the Sustainable Food System Programme of the One Planet Network;

      ● On knowledge barriers and outcomes for innovations, in 2022 we published the Politics of Knowledge, in which we asked 17 diverse contributor teams from around the world how they understand, document, and communicate evidence about agroecology, regenerative approaches, and Indigenous foodways. It squarely addresses the barriers and opportunities for researchers and other knowledge holders to contribute to informing policy for more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. We invite reviewing the main findings of this effort, as they can support the use of broader sources of evidence while building knowledge management activities.

      Commenting on Draft Results Framework, questions (3), (4) and (5):

      ● The collaboration framework and coalitions mentioned in 1.1 as possible intervention and outputs could also benefit from the extensive experiences of right to food coalitions, and national/sub-national food security and nutrition councils. The link between the food security and environment agendas are more than ever urgent and necessary, and complementaries between these different groups would only strengthen a more systemic food system transformation agenda;

      ● We invite the team to review the Systems Investment Assessment (SIA) tool produced by the Transformational Investing in Food Systems initiative (TIFS) as one possible methodology to support investment pathways toolkits indicated in 2.1. The SIA tool is based on the UNEP TEEBAgriFood evaluation framework and the Global Impact Investing Network’s Four Core Characteristics of Impact Investing and can be useful in facilitating comprehensive assessments of truly transformative investments.

      Finally, responding to the question about inputs, advice, examples, and successful cases on:

      ● Scaling up approaches, policies, and sustainable/regenerative food system practices: we have been collecting several positive stories of food system transformation at different levels and topics. We particularly invite the team to review 14 stories on climate and food systems action and 6 examples of creative financing for food system transformation we published last year. Our Beacons of Hope Food Systems Transformation Toolkit summarizes some of the main levers of transformation identified in this study.

      ● Multi-stakeholder processes: the One Planet Network also reviewed 10 examples of sustainable food system multi-stakeholder processes, raising important lessons on participation, inclusivity, efficiency, and resilience of these mechanisms;

      ● Research gaps or innovations on food systems transformation: as indicated previously, the Politics of Knowledge report indicates 5 priorities pathways to address research gaps and needed innovations in supporting agroecological, regenerative and Indigenous food systems. We thank again for the opportunity to comment and we would be extremely grateful if we could be further informed about the development of this program.

      Yours sincerely,

      Global Alliance for the Future of Food

      See the attachments:

    • Dear HLPE Steering Committee and the Project Team,

      Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the V0 Draft of the report “Data collection and analysis tools for food security and nutrition”.

      The Global Alliance for the Future of Food would like to suggest resources and references that could enhance the content of the report, particularly by contributing to consultation questions #3, #7, and #8. This contribution builds on recent work developed by the Global Alliance with several partners: i) the compendium “The Politics of Knowledge - Understanding the Evidence for Agroecology, Regenerative Approaches, and Indigenous Foodways”; ii) the report “True Value: Revealing the Positive Impacts of Food Systems Transformation”.

      Among other issues, the compendium “Politics of Knowledge” revisits fundamental debates on how we understand and document evidence for FSN, and how dominant narratives shape concepts such as data validity, objectivity, and equity in data collection and analysis. It also debates how political power behind dominant narratives can marginalize diverse, non-western, and non-academic types of knowledge - for example those strongly associated with agroecology, regenerative approaches, and Indigenous foodways - forcing narrow views on how to measure success, performance, and resilience in FSN. The report “True Value” digs into a growing area of study in comprehensive metrics for food security, nutrition, and sustainability. Adopting a food systems approach as advocated by numerous HLPE studies, the report demonstrates how using qualitative data and assessment approaches alongside quantitative data and assessment approaches enables us to more clearly describe the interlinkages between actions and impacts, which is important to systems thinking and understanding the connections between systems elements.

      Both studies call on us to encourage and embrace diverse forms of evidence to be generated, gathered, meaningfully considered, and communicated, thereby broadening the debate on data in a way that would, in our view, increase the richness of this forthcoming HLPE Report.

      Please find our detailed contribution attached to this message.

      Thank you for your consideration,



      Global Alliance for the Future of Food

      See the attachments:

    • Dear Madam/Sir,

      Attached please find the comments of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food on the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition Proposed Priority Actions for 2021-2025.

      We are a strategic alliance of philanthropic foundations collaborating on bold action to transform food systems. The recommendations expressed in this document are built after years of consultation with our members and based on strong collaboration with a wide range of partners supporting transformations towards healthy, equitable, renewable, resilient, inclusive, diverse, and interconnected food systems.

      Thank you,

      Matheus Zanella

      See the attachments: