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Topic 2: Food losses and wastes The Session of Food Losses and Waste was jointly developed by Dr. Jia Xiangping from CAAS and Dr. Felicitas Schneider from Thünen Institute, Germany. At the Session, Dr. Rosa Rolle (FAO), Dr. Felicitas Schneider (Thünen Institute) and Dr. Cheng Shengkui (CAS) delivered keynote speech regarding food loss and waste monitoring from Global, Germany, and Chinese perspectives respectively. Ms. Jia Yan, Project Policy Officer, WFP China Office moderated the session. At the global level, FAO has developed a food loss and waste analysis methodology, which can be applie... Read mored across different regions of the globe. The objectives of the methodology is to identify and assess the main causes of food losses and to identify the solutions to reduce food losses with respect to the technical and economic visibility, but also looking at food quality and safety requirements, social acceptability, as well as the impact on the potential of impacting and the environmental sustainability. Essentially, the methodology includes six series of four major activities as the screening process, which involves desk work and a number of fields investigations. FAO has done applied this methodology across different regions of the globe in more than 88 different supply chains. A majority of these have been also focused in in the African context. Dr. Felicitas Schneider, who coordinates the Global Initiative Food Loss and Food Waste, presented the political, legislative and structural framework for monitoring food loss and food waste in Germany. As a member country of the United Nations and the European Union, Germany is obliged to collect and regularly report on its food loss and food waste. Voluntary cooperation with companies along the value chain is intended to create a better database for this purpose. The influence of concrete reduction measures on social, monetary and ecological aspects must be observed, emphasized Dr. Schneider, in order to obtain a basis for evidence-based policy recommendations. Dr. Shengkui Cheng shared the lasted estimates of Food Loss and Waste in China. The estimation shows annually a total of 349±4 Mt food produced for human consumption (27%) was lost or wasted in China. The largest amount of FLW in China is found at the postharvest handling and storage stage both for the total (159±3 Mt, 45%). The consumption stage also contributes substantially to the total FLW (17%, 59±1 Mt). Out-of-home food waste accounts for 13% of the total FLW, far exceeding household food waste (4%). He emphasized that food losses mainly caused by poor infrastructures and technology, while food wastes mainly due to people’s awareness and behavior. China has implemented a series of actions to reduce food losses and wastes. First, legislation. Anti-food Waste Law of the People’s Republic of China was enacted on April 29, 2021. The Law mainly regulate the responsibilities of catering service providers, catering takeaway platforms, tour operators, supermarkets and shopping malls, education administrative authorities and news media. Second, local & nongovernmental actions such as “empty plate” campaign, “N-1, N-2” ordering and Green Food Bank. Third, consumer education and advocacy by schools and media. Fourth, Science and technology actions such as building storage infrastructures for smallholders. In the following panel discussions, Jiaqi Huang (CAAS) identified the complex interrelationships in quantity measurement as well as the current gaps and methodological weaknesses in the Chinese data situation and advocated further international research cooperation in this direction. Ms. Tian Xiyan, the General Manager of Cooperation and Development from Alibaba Local Services Company, reported on the possibilities and the willingness of her company to motivate consumers and companies in the out-of-home sector to implement avoidance measures and thus contribute to a significant reduction of food waste. Mr. Bian Jiang, the Vice Chairman of China Cuisine Association highlighted the cultural impacts on food wastes in catering industry, and called for more actions in catering service and in public education. Read less

Topic 1: Food system transformation Dr. Fan Shenggen, Chair Professor of College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Mr. Daniel Vennard, Chief Sustainability Officer, Syngenta Group, and Dr. Xu Yinlong, Professor of Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, CAAS, delivered keynote speeches at the Session of Food System Transformation. Mr. Jiang Yekui, Chief Sustainability Officer of Syngenta Group China moderated the session. Mr. Matteo Marchisio, IFAD China Representative, Mr. Wang Quanhui, Director of International Cooperation Department of ... Read moreAgricultural Ecology and Resource Protection General Station, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Mr. Fatih Ermis, Director of Agricultural Service Department, Nestle China contributed in the Panel discussion. Generally, the participants agreed that China has started transforming and upgrading its food and agriculture sector, and have had great achievements. These mainly include: 1) Stable food supply for all residents. Having the 9% of the world’s arable land and 6.4% of the world’s freshwater resources to feed 20% of the world’s population. China’s annual grain production is above 650 million tons for 6 consecutive years. The supply of main agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs and milk is sufficient, which contributes a lot to fight against the epidemic of COVID-19 since last year. 2) Poverty reduction. All the targets of poverty elimination in China have been accomplished. Specifically, 832 impoverished counties and 98.99 million rural poor populations have been lifted out of poverty. In July 1st this year, President Xi Jinping solemnly declared that China had built a well-off society in an all-round way and solved the problem of absolute poverty historically. China achieved the poverty alleviation goal of the United Nations 2030 agenda of sustainable development. 3) Pollution has been controlled and the ecological environment has been significantly improved. 4) Emergency response capabilities have been improved, for example, the response mechanism and measures for the COVID-19. 5) The level of opening up to the world continues to increase, for example, the Belt and Road Initiative. However, more actions need to be considered for implementation to address the potential challenges for the food systems. First, the government should consider establishing a new leadership group to coordinate policies and investments in the food system at the national and local levels. Second, the productivity of the entire food system need to be improved through more innovative science and technology which further requires more public and private investment and cooperation. Third, increase investment in restoring natural resources (such as land and water), in sustainable use of agriculture and food infrastructure (such as irrigation, transportation, etc.), and in reducing costs related to transportation, marketing, and food consumption. Fourth, promote institutional reforms to promote land improvement, help small farms upgrade or exit, expand machinery customization services, and develop more effective farmer cooperatives. Fifth, establish a modern agricultural product circulation system, "from farm to table", improve inclusiveness, efficiency, nutrition and food safety. Sixth, promote the transformation and sustainable development of the green food system, balance agricultural growth goals and sustainable development. Seventh, improve the social safety nets. Last, strengthen international cooperation to improve food security in China and the world. Read less

Responding to the nature of “Solution Summit” of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, the main findings of the Dialogue is summarized as the major ideas and recommendations that recurred in most of the three topic sessions in this Dialogue. The participants identified the main challenges of China’s food systems: 1) Agricultural productivity growth has slowed down, but smallholder farming is still prevalent. 2) The triple burden of malnutrition (hunger, micronutrient deficiency, overweight and obesity). 3) Shortage of resources, degradation, and pressure from climate change. 4) Urban and rura... Read morel inequality remains severe. 5) Food imports increase, increasing uncertainty in the global market. 6) Food losses and wastes increase. Main recommendations for food systems transformation include: 1) Technological innovation. Adjust the direction of agricultural technology research and give priority to the development of a multi-win technological innovation system. 2) Subsidy reform. Reform agricultural subsidy policies and innovate financial support methods. 3) ICT investment. Increase investment in rural information and communication infrastructure to comply with the trend of industrial digitization. 4) Institutional Innovation. Increase institutional innovation and build an efficient and inclusive food value chain. 5) Respect nature. Respect nature and protect the habitat of wild animals and plants. 6) Unimpeded trade. Maintain unimpeded trade and enhance resilience in the process of agriculture and food transformation. 7) Change behavior. Guide residents to change their behaviors to achieve a win-win situation between human health and the health of the earth. With respect to food losses and wastes, participants proposed the following measures 1) Technology and infrastructures of the food supply chains needs to be improved to prevent food loss. 2) Concrete actions should be taken to step up legislation, improve law enforcement and strengthen guidance on public opinion. 3) Consistent and systematic food loss and waste measurement, monitoring, and reporting mechanism needed to be established and implemented for evidence-based research. In a word, efforts should be launched on the supply chain to reduce loss and waste, so as to increase supply, better ensure food security and consumer health, and improve resource sustainability. As for digital innovation for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, at present, the innovation of digital technology and biotechnology is the most active field, which has brought great opportunities for the modernization of China's smallholder agriculture. Digitization, networking and intellectualization will become the main directions and strategic focuses of China's agricultural modernization. In the next five or even 15 years, it will drive into the fast lane and achieve great development. It can be predicted that the rapid digital transformation of China’s agriculture will not only provide a broad market space for the world's digital technology and related enterprises, but also contribute to global food security, especially the “one country, one product” action launched by FAO. Global cooperation and public-private partnerships are critical to building more inclusive and resilient global food systems, ensuring the safety and stability of global supply chains, boosting agricultural productivity, and reducing global food loss and waste through financial and technical support, institutional reforms, technological advances and awareness building. Read less

Under the theme of “Innovative Partnerships and Value Co-creation”, this Dialogue aims to bring together the best ideas and practices from the public and private sectors to cooperatively contribute to food systems transformation. Further, the Dialogue aims to promote a national narrative that highlights the importance of food systems in climate, nutrition, human, and other development priorities. This Dialogue is expected to share the spirits of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit at a global level, and to encourage the participates to build excitement for making commitments, especially from i... Read morennovation partnerships, to transform our food systems for people, planet and prosperity. The Dialogue focused on the following three topics and the links between them:  Food system transformation  Food losses and wastes  Digital innovation for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers Dr. Nie Fengying, the Member of the United Nations Food Systems Summit Advisory Committee, acted as the convenor of the Independent Dialogue. Dr. Sun Tan, Vice President of CAAS, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the United Nations Food System Summit, and Mr. Erik Fyrwald, CEO of Syngenta Group, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Dr. Zhang Yahui, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of CAAS presided over the opening ceremony. Participants heard from speakers in the opening ceremony who highlighted their respective efforts to help achieve food systems transformation in China and in the world. • Dr. Sun Tan stated that China’s economy has entered a stage of high-quality development, but the food system transformation still faces challenges such as resource and environmental constraints, smallholder farmers’ access to large markets, frequent extreme weather, and food loss and waste. Strengthened capacity of food production towards low-carbon, healthy and green systems is inseparable from the support of science and technology. CAAS has officially launched the CAASTIP (CAAS International Science and Technology Innovation Programme). CAASTIP will gather international and domestic partners for collaborative innovation in agricultural science and technology, jointly promote the development of global agricultural science and technology, and help the transformation of the food systems and the development of green agriculture. • Dr. Agnes Kalibata highly appreciated China’s effort in organizing this Dialogue as well as other contribution to the Summit. She emphasized the focus on the partnership is very much in line with the focus of the summit being the people's summit, and also being a solution summit. She stressed that national pathways that are coming out of these dialogues, offers an opportunity for us to build stronger partnerships with government departments, but also with constituencies, producers, officials, and private sectors. She also encouraged people to make their commitments online for the summit and to take that decision to make changes. • Mr. Erik Fyrwald mentioned Syngenta group plans to improve soil health and improve carbon sequestration on at least 2 million hectares of farmland in China by 2023 – about 2 percent of the country's farmland. Syngenta group currently invests up to $2 billion a year across its business units for research to help farmers not only adapt to climate change, but become part of the solution to climate change. Through its Modern Agriculture Platform, Syngenta Group China has guided and supported farmers via modernizing their farms, connecting them to premium buyers, offering education and training and facilitating access to machinery and end markets. Apart from developing products that lower the chemicals needed to control weeds and insects, the company is also finding ways for organic farms, which create far less CO2 per acre than land cultivated by traditional methods, to both greatly lower their emissions and produce healthy foods. Read less

a) opportunities and challenges within small-sacle food producer in achieving sustainable agriculture, b) detailed and effective method of how to improve public awareness, c) successful examples of sustainable agriculture practice within small-scale food producers to follow, d) stakeholders whose interests should be prioritized.

1) food system is not only the process, it is a system that would affect all people despite its gender, nation or social status. 2) by improving public awareness of healthy diet and its strong relevance to sustainable agriculture, we can promoting the consumers' preference of food choice, thus the food market can drive small-scale food producer to turn to sustainable agriculture to improve their income. In that case, we also need government policy to support this small-scale food producers and give them enough subsidy.

a) the relation bwtween food system transformation and SDGs b) the relationship among healthy diet, public awareness, food market and small-scale food prooducer and agriculture

It could be (i) a comprehensive exploration of food systems, especially the relation between food system transformation and SDGs (ii) an exploration of boosting the small and sustainable agriculture, (iii) examination of links between one or more of the Action Tracks and levers of change, (iv) give the plan of how to tackle the issues of small-scale food prooducer in achieving sustainable agriculture.

Some participants thought it was too ambitious and impractical to envision Sustainable food systems by 2030 and thought their needs to be an overhaul in Governance for this to work while others thought that the change would begin from citizens themselves and therefore its workable. Some participants still believe breastfeeding is not as important as feeding children food. They believe it's not enough. Nutrition needs alot of mitigating in Kenya and it's a bigger problem than highlighted while others felt it is under control.

Coping with Urban Hunger. - Adopting smart gardens. Since food is costly,young mothers decided they will adopt smart gardens that use very little space to grow vegetables to boost their diets. They will receive training and orientation on the best practices to ensure they get produce that will be sustainable in the long run. They will form small groups that will be accountable for this process. Theft,lack of motivation are the challenges anticipated.

Providing proper nutrition for young mothers and infants. -Local health centres should be equipped with information to educate young mothers on proper nutrition for free. The local Government should work with development partners to see the actualisation of this and this can be assessed through unplanned visits to the centres by other delegated groups/persons of interest to see if they are implementing. Poor coordination,corruption( asking people to pay for a free service),lack of enough personnel were foreseen as the possible challenges that will arise during implementation.

There is need for different stakeholders to empower small-scale productions that will increase production to low-income areas in urban settings. This will in turn help in reducing the prices of food and creating accessibility for all. There is need to broaden the advocacy of right to food to ensure equitable systems for all.

The Dialogue focused on Nutrition of young mothers and their infants. The main focus was on how to improve nutrition for both mother and child,Malnutrition Awareness,Coping and managing Urban hunger. The dialogue highlighted issues related to breastfeeding, feeding children during/after sickness, feeding HIV/AIDS children under improving nutrition. Malnutrition awareness was also highlighted to share information about the status of Malnutrition, causes ,as well as come up with solutions on how to deal with and bridge the existing gaps that hinder prevention of Malnutrition, particularly on chi... Read moreldren under 5 years who are the most affected. Urban Hunger is a big contributor to lack of good nutrition of mothers and infants and therefore the dialogue highlighted how young mothers can cope with this as they provide nutritious diets for their children and them. Read less

Should we go back to the old ways, or move forward with the future? This is why intergenerational work is important, to prevent the total loss of cultural heritage. Young people are working against aspects of climate change and social issues that previous generations never had to deal with.

Facilitator 1: Jennifer Avci, Founder & Project Development Manager at Sustainable Gastro, Nordic-Baltic region Facilitator 2: Julia Dalmadi, Director of Community Programs at Future Food Institute, Germany Topic - Policymaking, (Food) Diplomacy, Measurements, Democracy How might edible gardens be the catalysts of regulatory design to build equitable food systems? • We don't need new projects, we need to use what we have and exploit it. • We all have a connection to our food system at least in one way, because we all consume it. • Finding good food to eat is very difficult and expens... Read moreive. Cooperative supermarket comes up as a solution; it empowered people to take charge of their food system. • How to scale out these initiatives: The most difficult issue is to make sure that all marginalised voices are taken into consideration when engaging in policy making. A platform is necessary to ensure these voices are heard (Civil Society), indigenous people, women, and small business ownership. They understand their needs and have better insight into solutions that might work. • Co-create and co-design is key to achieve real change. • Children are able to build conversations around food organically. • In order to create change in policy making we need to come up with creative solutions that allow all stakeholders to face the issues together and come up with solutions to them together. • Language integration (Speak food fluently) • Policy-making mind-set is short-term oriented. • At a municipality level it is important that projects are handled on a platform that allows for the continuity of the projects. • Ingredients: Clear financial plans, account for your resources, integrate technology in order to make the projects cheap and scalable, raise awareness in your communities and talk about the basics and openly share your solutions. • Create programs that lead to more interest of younger generations to engage in agriculture related professions. • Edible school gardens can give culinary confidence, product knowledge (Product ID, taste knowledge), culinary creativity (Recipe knowledge), and solution to unemployment issues. Consequently they solve food supply issues in communities’ dependant on others for food supply. Read less

Facilitator 1: Karine Paris, Coordinator Urban Gardening, CELL – The Transition Hub, Luxembourg Facilitator 2: Sally Bourdon, Action Researcher at Fab Lab Barcelona, USA Topic - Inclusivity, Participation, Technology How might edible gardens enable the young generation to achieve digital and financial literacy and develop a holistic approach to sustainable development? • Teaching the youth nature, physics and correlations with food systems sovereignty, giving them design thinking techniques. • Co-design from the very beginning, the idea, the location and so on. • How they see the work ... Read moreon land as well, we need to work on the farmers, the quality of work to make farming sustainable. • School trips to successful farms would improve the image of a farmer and kids can dream about that too. • Involving the whole community, the seniors as well. • Circular system for edible gardens, processing, and coming back to our houses (preserve/ferment/turn into powder). • Partnering agro with technology, connect farmers and chefs, take out the middle man, and maybe even use school kitchens. • Looking back to move forward! Learning from the past to improve through technology. What are some opportunities & challenges for educators to engage with tech in a school garden? • We need to start dreaming, but the whole cycle needs their engagement (youth and adults). • Holistic knowledge through first hand experiences, being involved in more than 1 part of the system. • The entire world should be dreaming about sustainable farmers, we don't exist without them. • Once you understand the whole path the ingredient had to go through before reaching your table you give it more value. • Youth is looking for opportunities in urban centers, how we create opportunities for successful farmer careers. • Positive experience for health, mental health, creates a community. • Edible garden in elementary school where they plant, harvest, transform what it is in the garden, ingredient is cheap, product has added value. • Safety starting from the quality of input, food safety is important at all stages. Read less