Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

How can we sustainably manage existing food production systems to the benefit of both nature and people? • For livestock, all the narrative is focused on gross emissions and negative impact however, this narrative needs to be balanced to account for the positive impact livestock contributes to global food systems if we are truly to define an accurate picture. • If livestock is managed correctly, we can stop having an impact or even have a positive impact on global warming by pulling methane out of the atmosphere. - Methane from cattle is not only emitted but is also destroyed relatively qu... Read moreickly. This means it’s warming impact should be measured differently than that of CO2. - Methane released by livestock lasts for 10-12 years and does not continue to build up in the atmosphere like CO2 which has a life of 1000 years. With stable livestock numbers, the amount of methane produced balances the methane that breaks down from the atmosphere. - If industry continue to build on innovations to reduce the amount of methane emitted, then in fact, livestock will pull more total carbon (methane/CO2) out of the atmosphere than it emits. - Furthermore, this removal of methane, by livestock, is not currently identified in the accounting of methane, only that which is emitted. This needs to be urgently addressed. • A healthy grazed grassland can create deep carbon sinks. Managing grasslands well also contributes to carbon storage in other ways: by enhancing soil health and water holding capacity to equip land to be more resilient to extreme events. • Livestock enable economic development of marginal land (country specific) that does not lend itself to alternate food production systems. - In addition, ruminant animals convert grass and other plants with low nutrient value and digestibility to humans into high quality protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. - These marginal lands have an environmental function and livestock producers for quite some years have been putting practices in place to protect and enhance biodiversity of these lands. • 86% of the global livestock feed intake in dry matter consists of feed materials that are not currently edible for humans (3) Modest improvements in feed conversion ratios can prevent further expansion of arable land dedicated to feed production. • The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) and other regional programmes such as the European Roundtable for Beef Sustainability (ERBS) (4) was established to set clear goals for the reduction of the environmental footprint of cattle and to improve the welfare of the animal and the farmer. Together these organisations have influence on beef produced across the globe. In the instance of the ERBS, national platforms consisting of farming groups, processors, government, retailers, and NGO’s, apply to ERBS for recognition, then implement their activity plans and finally report annually against their progress. This process drives sharing of innovation and provides transparency of the progress towards the goals. Read less

What is the role of meat in the diet and what are the implications of going without? • Animal sourced proteins are a high-quality protein source that provide the full array of essential amino acids and other important nutrients, such as bioavailable iron, vitamin B12 and zinc and therefore are a richer source of protein per gram compared to plant protein sources. - This is important particularly in LMICs where hunger and malnutrition are significant and, where supplements are harder to access, and the wide range of plant foods needed to deliver all nutrients would be extremely diverse and la... Read morerge in quantity. - This is critically important for at risk groups such as the very young, pregnant and lactating women, the obese and the aged. - Fulfilling dietary protein and amino acid requirements from red meat reduces the associated calorie consumption due to the unique high ratio of bio-available protein relative to calories. Reduced red meat intake is associated with increased carbohydrate and calorie intake relative to protein and is an important contributing factor to obesity. • The most common nutritional deficiencies in the world are iron and vitamin B12. - Well-absorbed bioavailable haem iron is only found in animal foods - red meat, poultry and fish. The removal of these haem iron foods from the diet greatly reduces absorption of iron. - As there are limited plant-based foods that are a source of vitamin B12 (unless fortified), those following a diet with little to no animal products, particularly women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, are at greater risk of vitamin B12 deficiency and require supplementation. • In addition to a drastic reduction in meat intake, which would see implication around adequate essential nutrients, the proposed EAT Lancet diet contains discrepancies around protein intake vs sugar intake. This will contribute negatively to worsen outcomes of malnutrition, obesity and obesity-related disease. • There is no consistent evidence that any one food, including red meat, leads to an increased risk of death. Instead, it’s known that a range of lifestyle factors have a significant impact on the risk, most notably age, genetics, lack of dietary fibre, inactivity and high alcohol consumption. Read less

Food security: What is the role of animal sourced protein in feeding the growing world’s population? • LMICs have been left behind in the creation and contribution of the global supply chain as their farmers have not been supported to commercialise, instead they suffer from donor dependency (charity aid). • In addition, the population in LMICs are enduring low protein consumption with diets relying largely on highly refined carbohydrates, which means metabolic illness is on the rise. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated 25% of adults have metabolic syndrome. (2) • In LMICs it’s imp... Read moreortant to differentiate protein sources (animal sourced vs. plant) as it is animal sourced protein exclusively that delivers not only protein but bioavailable haem iron and other essential nutrients (including exclusive sources of several nutrients). • Improved efficiency of livestock production will mean the total global sector’s contribution to temperature will not increase. However, it will produce more food to help feed the world. • In addition to food livestock provide many other human benefits including a large array of pharmaceutical ingredients, wool, pelts, leather, hides, organic fertiliser and draught power in addition to acting as a mobile source of wealth, critical to LMIC smallholder farmers. • LMICs, such as Zimbabwe, are calling out for knowledge to deliver their own results by using their own resources and set of values. • In Africa, many of the drivers for raising livestock are also cultural rather than commercial and the more cattle that farmers own, the wealthier they are, independent of the condition of either the cattle or the land. So just imposing "western" solutions (as has been the tradition in the past) on such smallholder farmers does not resolve the dichotomy - similarly government-imposed regulations that farmers "must" appropriately manage their rangelands has not worked hence we do need to use proven productivity improvements. But we also need to find ways to encourage the farmers to take a whole-of-farm system approach (within the local, regional and global food system) to manage their livestock in a commercially relevant way. • The solution for Africa? “Conception to Consumption” - Build capacity (farmers need to see themselves as part of the global supply chain), train farmers, improve genetics, make inputs readily available, bring market to the farmers and focus on traceability and technology transfer. • As a sector, we have the knowledge and practices to create positive change, but we need to improve the open sharing and utilising of this information universally. Read less

Two Game Changing Solutions were identified: Game Changing Solution 1 - Facilitate a global capacity which enables knowledge transfer & empowers smallholder farmers in low & middle-income countries (LMICs) to obtain successful solutions & proven, context appropriate technologies. Providing LMICs, such as those in Africa, with the means to improve efficiencies, genetics and environmental impact, would empower these farmers to finally be considered part of the global food system. For example, 20% of the world’s cattle are raised in Sub-Saharan Africa however the region only contrib... Read moreutes 2-3% of the world’s beef production and the lowest milk production per cow (1). Cattle are raised by smallholder farmers who historically have been unable to commercialise. The benefits of empowering farmers would enhance the ability to feed a greater percentage of the local population without increasing the herd size, resulting in a lower carbon footprint; and lower local incidence of metabolic illness and alleviation of poverty in an area that will hold 23% of the world’s population by 2050. Game Changing Solution 2 - To holistically achieve sustainable food systems, a comprehensive & unbiased nutritional / environmental index built from high quality science is urgently required. Smart metrics are needed to establish planetary health and human health simultaneously. Such an index should be valid for both individual foods and complete diets and applicable to diverse regional and economic situations. Currently, foods and food systems are often measured on gross rather than net environmental impact and without any consideration of contribution to human health in terms of protein and essential nutrients required for development and optimal wellbeing. If we are truly to understand what sustainable, healthy diets look like we need these metrics to simultaneously track net environmental impact and nutrient density and diversity. Foods need to be evaluated through appropriate local and regional Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) combined with comprehensive dietary contributions. In addition, the following was strongly identified: • Balanced healthy diets require a combination of animal and plant-based foods, adapted to regional cultures, local food availability, distribution systems and climatic constraints. • Animal sourced proteins are a high-quality protein source that provide the full array of essential amino acids and other important nutrients, such as bioavailable iron, vitamin B12 and zinc. • There is no consistent evidence that any one food, including meat, leads to an increased risk of death. The evidence linking red meat with cancer are based on studies that show associations between food and health, not causation. There are many diet and lifestyle factors that contribute to risk factors for chronic diseases, including obesity, sedentary lifestyles and lack of dietary fibre. The methodology of those studies are limited in their ability to accurately measure individual food types. In addition, they are limited in their ability to distinguish between any effect of red meat separately from that of other risk factors. The small size of the association reported suggests residual confounding from unhealthy diet and lifestyle risk factors is the most likely explanation. From a perception perspective, insights suggest health is personal and different for everyone. While consumers tend to filter information and gravitate to solutions that fit their personal mindsets and behaviours, most have a balanced approach to healthy eating and continue to enjoy eating a variety of protein choices. • For livestock, the narrative is focused on gross emissions and claimed negative impact. However, this narrative is flawed in not recognising that, unlike fossil fuel emissions that accumulate, methane from ruminants is naturally cycled resulting in far lower net emissions over time, with well managed systems reducing atmospheric GHG through soil and tree carbon sequestration. • Managed correctly livestock can have a positive impact on global warming by transferring atmospheric carbon to soils through plant photosynthesis. • Livestock enable economic development of marginal land that is unsuitable for alternate food production systems. - Ruminant animals convert grass and other plants with low nutrient value to humans into high quality protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals that humans can digest and utilise to function for health and well-being. - These marginal lands have an environmental function and livestock producers for quite some years have been putting practices in place to protect biodiversity of these lands. - Regenerative management practices result in improved soil health, greater water holding capacity and increased plant growth, increasing human food availability in harmony with increased biodiversity and system resilience. • Improved efficiency of livestock production will mean the total global livestock sector’s contribution to temperature will not increase and likely decease and in tandem, will produce more food to help feed additional global consumers. • Livestock also play a key role in converting otherwise ‘waste’ food (e.g. crop residues and by-products of food manufacture) into high-quality, nutrient dense protein for human consumption. This cycle is a crucial part of global food production. Large volumes of crop residues, weather damaged product, vegetable wastes and food system by-products that would otherwise add to waste and GHG levels, are recycled for human consumption. Read less

The dialogue focused on bringing together participants from all aspects of the global meat & livestock supply chain to discuss the role of the global meat & livestock sector in future sustainable food systems. Participants ranged from smallholder farmers to processors to butchers/chefs to those who sell the final products, to scientists, nutritionists, retailers and government policy makers. This ensured the opportunity was created for a diverse range of views to be presented to reach a shared understanding of the discussion topic. The dialogue was centred around all the UNFSS Action T... Read moreracks and the following topics were covered by both a presentation and group discussion: 1. Food security: What is the role of animal sourced protein in feeding the growing world’s population? 2. What is the role of meat in the diet and what are the implications of going without? 3. How can we sustainably manage existing food production systems to the benefit of both nature and people? 4. What is the role of the global meat & livestock sector in future-proofing our food systems and protecting against shocks and stresses? 5. How do we maintain a balanced debate and inclusive narrative? The meat & livestock sector is united in its ambition to bring high quality, nutritious and sustainable food to everyone and is continuously driving towards a carbon positive farming industry with high animal welfare and environmental standards at its heart. It was noted that this dialogue brought together a large representation of the global meat & livestock sector and that conversations of this nature, in an open forum, need to continue. The industry commits to continuing with this activity and thanks the UNFSS for providing such an important platform to do so. Read less

Breakout Group 3 explored the Action Track 4 for workable solutions and levers of change. Recommendations included: 1. Reducing the power unbalancing through affordable financing be available across the board for small farmers to be more independent in terms of purchasing of the inputs, negotiating for selling the crops etc. State bank should create low cost refinancing for small farmers Pakistan Credit Guarantee Company should incentivize such schemes for the commercial banks 2. Contract farming need to be introduced especially in newly merged districts of KP and Baluchistan that will lead to... Read more following 3 areas Access to market Access to affordable finance Access to advisory services Further we need to draft and regulate the legal framework for newly merged districts of KP and Baluchistan 3.Inclusive approach for organizing the local institutions (farmer groups, cooperatives etc.) at grass roots level and campaigning must be initiated for increasing the level of awareness and sensitization of those institutions especially using digitization for accessing the all services across the board by ensuring “Leave No One Behind” Digitization of the local institutions and utilization of the digital tools for increasing the awareness and access to the services Read less

Breakout Group 2 explored the Action Tracks 1and 2 for workable solutions and levers of change. Main findings included: Food availability, most important is where the food is produced. Farmers should be organized and equipped with innovative techniques./There should be information on market access – good prices and where can they sell/ Farmers’ capacity building/ Resources of the farmers _MFIs, govt investments/Food safety – cold chain, packaging based on the needs ,of the consumers Food security/sovereignty – farmers are the most vulnerable, Farmers are going to the cities/ other peop... Read morele should be considered – policy level approach- there should institutions to provide technical input/ seeds are provided at high prices and you cannot use the harvested seed to plant/Farmers shuuld have control over their supply of seeds, water and other inputs Technology dissemination is very important – governments should also be responsible. Promotion of private investment Read less

Breakout Group 1 explored the Action Tracks 3 and 5 for workable solutions and levers of change. Main findings included: Recommendation 1 (3.1) Agro Forestry/Community Forestation Subsidies for Marginalized Areas Infrastructure Investment on Mountainous Areas. Recommendation 2 (3.2) Promotion of Indigenous Crops and Livestock Promotion and Incentivize of Organic Production Land Usage plan through community. Recommendation 3 (3.3) Continuous Research and Alternate Income for the pastureland community. Longitudinal study of pastural areas. Recommendation 1 (5.1) Promotion of Food Banking on comm... Read moreunity level. Recommendation 2 (5.2) Support to the upstream community. Read less

3. Unlocking Private Sector Investment to Transform Agriculture Several voices contributed to this discussion throughout the two-day dialogue. It was noted that finance is needed at three key stages of the innovation process: 1. Incubation, 2. Start-up, 3. Acceleration. Among the game-changing solutions proposed were: - Digital credit ratings and credit scoring tools for farmers - Revisiting agriculture curriculums to teach agriculture as a business, encouraging students to become agro-entrepreneurs. - Implement policies that enable modernization of agriculture and promote the emergence of a l... Read moreocal private sector - A call for the establishment of a Financing Facility for Food Security in Africa, to scale up climate-resilient and successful agricultural technologies and strengthen commodity value chains for both staple food and cash crops. Read less

2. Innovative Partnership and Financing Approaches for Agricultural R&D Around a third of calories consumed in Africa are imported from outside the continent. Low productivity of major staple crops is at the core of Africa’s food security challenge and the non-competitiveness of its agriculture. The discussion around this topic focused on the need to foster the relationship between national agricultural institutions and regional agricultural institutions, and it looked at some existing solutions with potential for scaling up: - Establish a (sovereign) Regional Research for Development fu... Read morend to invest in shared agricultural research priorities and address the questions and challenges that would arise as technologies are scaled up and rolled out across Africa. The AfDB and IFAD will work to set up the aforementioned facility. - Capitalize on the Technologies for Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program: TAAT brings together scientists from international and national agricultural research systems, governments, and the private sector to deliver agricultural technologies to farmers, at scale. Its implementation reveals that increased investments in Agricultural Research & Development and adoption of technology can help in boosting agricultural productivity, with important results for the overall strength of the food system. However, funding for regional and sub-regional research and development institutions has declined, limiting opportunities for investments in innovation and research and development. - Develop a new partnership capitalizing on the complementary roles that both the AfDB and IFAD have in enabling agricultural transformation in Africa, to revamp existing Africa’s Regional Technology Delivery Infrastructure (RTDI), and ecosystems for regional and sub-regional research and development, with the potential to push technologies beyond borders and support strong regional agricultural value chains. Read less

1. Successful Policy Interventions for Scaling Technologies The discussion focused on the need for political will to scale up the role of technologies in agriculture, as well as governments’ capacity to take up technologies. The following emerged as game-changing interventions from a policy standpoint: - Stronger mechanisms for political accountability for hunger and food insecurity - Digitalization and the provision of bundles of digital services to farmers (e.g. digital micro-forecasting data and digital curriculums) - Policies that promote the emergence of a local private sector, which in... Read more turn will produce employment opportunities and innovation - Policies and national investments in line with the commitments of the Malabo declaration, in order to make technology affordable and available - Institutional innovation and regional alignment as an important basis for a strong science-policy interface (capitalizing on the strong interconnectedness of African Food Systems) - Encourage a shift of development partners from subsidies to markets expansion - Support school feeding programs at scale, as well as investments that are cognizant of climate change and the pandemic recovery needs The Head of States session and the communique mentioned a financing facility for food and nutrition security to support this. The AfDB and IFAD will work to set up the aforementioned facility. Read less

The key conclusions of the dialogue highlighted the need to strengthen collaboration, establish new partnerships and agree on shared commitments to help modernize and strengthen African food systems. The dialogue culminated with the announcement of a coalition of multilateral development banks and development partners to pledge over US$17 billion in the financing, in a bold bid to address rising hunger on the African continent and to improve food security. In addition, 17 African Leaders committed to concrete actions to boost agricultural production by doubling current productivity levels thro... Read moreugh the scaling up of agricultural technologies, investing in the development of agro-industrial processing zones to boost national and regional food markets for value-added and nutritious foods, expanding economic opportunities for rural economies through the transformation of agriculture, expanding support to smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, and increasing support for agricultural research and development. They highlighted the following seven areas as those requiring the highest attention: 1. Accelerate agricultural production by doubling current agricultural productivity levels; 2. Increase financing for global, national, regional research and development systems; 3. Enhance support for climate-proofing agriculture in Africa to boost the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change, especially through drought-tolerant crops and livestock, digital weather information and climate advisories, irrigation, better water management, and crop and livestock insurance products; 4. Support infrastructure for the development of special agro-industrial processing zones, to support private sector processing and value addition, logistics, and transport for market development and competitiveness; 5. Expand access to finance for farmers and food systems’ actors, through reducing risks of lending to agricultural value chains, and attract greater private sector financing into agriculture; 6. Build a stronger partnership between the public, private sectors, farmers’ associations, civil society, research, and universities, to ensure that inclusive approaches are used across the agricultural value chains; 7. Accelerate greater access of African countries to more concessional financing resources to support the development of the agricultural sector. The attached Communiqué summarizes the discussions and commitments made during the dialogue. Read less

The event aimed to identify ways to expand activities, financing, and partnerships to further leverage technology and innovation for the transformation of agriculture food systems in Africa to improve food security and nutrition, help recover from the current crisis and build long-term resilience to climate change and other shocks in the continent. It placed particular emphasis on ways to increase agricultural production, proposing ways to facilitate investments in research, sustainable technologies, and infrastructure, leveraging the private sector to accelerate progress. The Dialogue provide... Read mored African Leaders a unique opportunity to contribute to the global discourse and to share success stories on home-grown strategies and achievements in scaling up successful innovations. The outcomes of this dialogue laid the foundation for Africa to present a unified voice to step up efforts and partnerships towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and they will be presented as Africa’s shared commitments within the UN Food Systems Summit. Read less

For the most part, participants aligned around the priorities that exist around innovation; however, they flagged a number of nuances based on the context within which these innovations need to take place. For instance: - Several regional breakouts flagged the disconnect that exists between consumers’ stated preferences and their actual behavior. (Most consumers still purchase based on affordability, access and habit more than any other factor.) - Different breakouts discussed where the locus of decision-making actually existed within the agri-food chain, but many flagged both consumers and ... Read morefarmers are the most important stakeholders. - Several breakouts discussed the need for regulation to keep up with innovation, especially around topics like plant biotechnology. - Innovations must also reflect both the socioeconomic and agroecological contexts of the food system to which they are being applied. “As a farmer, what I need is a motorcycle but you give me an airplane.” - More developed markets tended to talk more about sustainability issues (such as water use, soil fertility and carbon mitigation) whereas less developed markets prioritized the need to boost yields (consistently), support farmer livelihoods and improve consumers’ access to affordable, diverse, safe food. Read less

South Asia: - Innovation needs to be focused around farmers’ needs. “There is still a huge gap between the lab and the land.” - There is still a lack of post-harvest processing and storage, lack of access to advanced agricultural science, lack of access to equipment and infrastructure, and poor access to market for many farmers. - Trade barriers need to be further broken down and regulatory environments harmonized. - The private sector needs to be mobilized to rise to the challenge of delivering on the transformations required. - Covid-19 accelerated the use of digital platforms for farm... Read moreer extension and diagnostics. Read less

North Asia: - “Communication is just as important as innovation.” Consumers need to better understand the benefits, trade-offs and synergies of different innovations. - Behavioral changes are needed both for consumers and producers. - Producers need to engage more with policymakers and the general public. - Digital agriculture is helping educate young farmers and help them to problem solve issues in real time. - Artificial intelligence is guiding new systems for farming, observing many factors simultaneously like climate controls, water etc. all remotely. - E-commerce is redefining agri-fo... Read moreod value chains (accelerated by Covid-19) and is helping more farmers to cut out the middle man. Read less

Africa and the Middle East: - The yield gap in Africa remains high, which continues to put pressure on food security on the continent. - There is a need for stronger farmer voices from the field. They need to be better organized to do so. - Training and extension materials are often unavailable in all languages nor “translated” to make complex concepts like climate change understandable. Farmers learn best from other farmers. - Farmers need to be supported as business people and their work treated as such. Uptake of innovation cannot happen if farmers cannot make a profit from doing so. - ... Read moreResearchers need to work more closely with farmers, not in isolation, in order to align their work with farmer needs. Read less

Europe: - Information on food systems is often currently sensationalized, and farmers struggle to keep up. “I’m a farmer, I can’t spend 10 hours on communicating every day.” - Consumer perceptions need to be addressed head-on with more science-based communication. - Educating consumers from a young age about food systems (including farming practices, diets and nutrition) can help them be more informed into adulthood. - Retailers’ marketing efforts to consumers is highly competitive, and different issues can be portrayed as “the enemy” as a way of creating differentiation.

Latin America: - Farmers must be supported and capacitated to adopt new technologies. - Innovation should also focus on ways of collaborating more effectively and widely. - New digital platforms can help connect farmers to markets and to other agri-food chain actors more easily. - Proper legislation and regulation are important to create an enabling environment for innovation. “If that’s right, the investment will follow.”

North America: - Farming has made great improvements over the past decades – “We have a success story to tell.” - Innovation needs to reach the whole agri-food chain. - The gap between innovation and regulation needs to be bridged. - Consumers need to be brought back into the conversation so that they feel connected to where their food comes from. - Focusing on agricultural transformations will help trigger further innovations all along the food chain.