FAO scientific innovation hubs to foster productive, greener agrifood systems and healthier diets

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will set up scientific innovation ‘hubs of excellence’ so Asia-Pacific smallholders can farm more efficiently and sustainably, sell more of their produce and put healthier food on people’s plates.

Government representatives meeting in Apia, Samoa to review FAO’s global flagship One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative, agreed that scientific knowledge and innovation are key to harnessing the potential of underutilized crops to reduce the high prevalence of hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty in Asia and the Pacific.

The OCOP Centres of Excellence (COEs), endorsed by the Asia-Pacific OCOP coordinating Regional Organizing Group (ROG) in Apia today, will leverage the expertise of FAO regional science and innovation partners, to promote underutilized crops—or Special Agricultural Products (SAPs)—that have unique qualities linked to geographic location, farming practices and cultural heritage.

“Asia and the Pacific can be proud of its contribution to the global OCOP initiative,” Alue Dohong, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific told the ROG meeting. “They are showing how knowledge and innovation can be harnessed to turn underutilized crops into agents of agrifood systems transformation, by increasing productivity, resilience, sustainability and inclusiveness.”

OCOP Centres of Excellence

The Beijing-based Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGSNRR, CAS) and the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University (INMU) in Thailand, will be the first two OCOP COEs.

The Geographical Indications Environment & Sustainability (GIES) methodology developed by IGSNRR, CAS connects producers and the SAP’s production environment with consumers and is already being applied for developing SAP value chains in Bhutan and Nepal. Its use for enhancing the environmental dimensions of the SAP value chain will be extended to other Asia-Pacific countries participating in the OCOP Initiative.

As a leading regional centre of nutrition science and technology, INMU is working with FAO to analyse the nutritional profiles of SAPs and to develop recipes for diverse tastes and age groups.

The COEs will be hubs of interdisciplinary knowledge generation and sharing, capacity building and transfer of science, innovation and technology. They will advance OCOP implementation in their areas of expertise, while promoting synergies across FAO’s core vision of Four Betters – better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Better Production when synergized with Better Nutrition, strengthens food supply and demand, while also promoting green production in conjunction with Better Environment. When aligned with Better Life, the Better Production pillar contributes to livelihood improvement. Better Nutrition, in synergy with Better Environment, supports the development of safe and trusted food systems, and alongside Better Life, it ensures a healthy life.  

Improving market access for Pacific smallholders

The geographical isolation of Pacific Island Countries presents logistical challenges and access to regional and international markets, disadvantaging smallholder producers.

Following the Apia ROG, FAO addressed this challenge with a capacity building session on developing market intelligence for Pacific SAPs and identifying logistical and regulatory constraints to international market access. Representatives of the eight Pacific Island OCOP countries—the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu—were briefed on identifying potential markets for SAP-based products and regulatory bottlenecks for their SAP exports. They were also trained on geoenvironmental traceability methods to enhance access to high-end niche markets.

Launched in 2021, the OCOP initiative aims to make agrifood systems more productive, resilient, sustainable and inclusive, in support of the FAO Four Betters.

The third annual OCOP ROG was organized with the Inception Workshop for the Global OCOP Project in Samoa under the FAO-China SSC (South-South Cooperation) Program. Its organization on the 80th anniversary of the founding FAO symbolised the spirit of cooperation and action that has underpinned FAO contribution to global well-being over the past eight decades.