Governance for agrifood systems transformation
In the face of growing global challenges such as food insecurity, climate crisis, resource depletion, and population growth, effective governance mechanisms
are essential to guide the desired transition towards more effective, sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems. Coordinated efforts at local, national, regional and global levels are necessary to develop and implement policies that promote
environmentally friendly farming techniques, responsible resource management and use, and a more equitable distribution of benefits.
Governance provides a vital structure for fostering dialogue, knowledge exchange, innovation, and technology adoption and facilitating inclusion and participation of all stakeholders in agrifood systems. By creating an enabling environment through governance, we can encourage collaboration between various stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, businesses, and policymakers, to collectively address the multifaceted challenges facing the agrifood sector.
Why is governance critical for FAO’s work?
FAO sees governance as a gear. It powers the Organization’s work while connecting the dots through multistakeholder dialogue processes. Governance underlies FAO’s policy support to countries and programmatic interventions across all levels. It is part of the Organization’s utmost vision for agrifood systems: transformative processes require much stronger, more transparent and accountable institutions and governance, including adaptive and regulatory governance (source: FAO's Strategic Framework 2022-2031).
The transformation of agrifood systems can only be achieved through the collective action of a broad range of public and private actors, each of whom brings distinctive interests, needs, resources, influence and capacities. In this sense, governance and institutions are critical drivers for achieving the desired transformation, translating the pathway set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Key messages
They constrain policy choices, and, when ignored or misunderstood, are a persistent source of policy and investment failure. The dynamics of institutional change in specific contexts are complex and uncertain, but analysis is essential for assessing the possibilities and formulating feasible strategies to achieve transformational change.
Understanding relevant governance and political economy concerns – such as the diversity of interests among stakeholders, power imbalances in decision-making processes, and institutional issues that constrain capacities for action – is essential for policy and investment implementation.
Alternative policy choices, resource allocations and other decisions related to food and agriculture often involve trade-offs between economic growth, social equity and sustainable use of natural resources. Innovative governance mechanisms can help reposition different sectors and actors as partners – rather than competitors – in coordinated action towards food systems transformation.
Establishing the societal frameworks needed to transform agrifood systems remains an essential responsibility of states, but the way this responsibility is carried out needs to be adapted to changing circumstances. Broad social participation is needed to sustain the efforts. Cross-sectoral coordination and networks of communication within government as well as across the public-private divide are indispensable means for facilitating the effectiveness of policies and food systems outcomes.
Governance in action
At the global level, FAO hosts intergovernmental and multistakeholder policy dialogue on food and agriculture, generating treaties, declarations, norms, standards, and voluntary guidelines. See examples:
- Committee on World Food Security
- Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- Committee on Fisheries
At the regional level, FAO facilitates regional and subregional collaboration to harmonize common objectives, instruments, and programmes, adapting and operationalizing global norms and guidance. See examples:
- Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission
- Agriculture, Land and Water Use Commission for the Near East
- FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean
At the national level, FAO supports Member countries to identify, analyse, and develop solutions to key governance challenges for sustainable agrifood systems. See examples:
- JP GTA in Ecuador
- One Health approach in Kenya
- Codex Alimentarius in the Plurinational State of Bolivia
At the community level, FAO undertakes governance analyses within specific contexts. It engages key stakeholders, promotes capacity development, and assists in creating permanent dialogue forums. See examples:
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DEFINITION
FAO defines governance at all levels by the processes through which public and private actors articulate their interests; frame and prioritize issues; and make, implement, monitor and enforce decisions.
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Deep dive
Relevant links
- Videos - Governance in Agrifood Systems
- FAO Governance of Tenure
- FAO Forest Governance
- FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture - Governance and Institutions
- FAO Right to Food
- UN Food Systems Coordination Hub
- Committee on World Food Security
- Governance of natural resources
- FAO and the GEF
- Agroecology and responsible governance