Food Systems Solutions Dialogues

The Food Systems Solutions Dialogues are purposeful and organized events which bring together National Convenors, along with other food systems actors, to share their experiences and insights on food systems.

The Hub has organized monthly Food Systems Solutions Dialogues since April 2022, on a wide range of technical topics, including financing food systems transformations, coalitions of action, governance and institutions, health and nutrition, and the role of the private sector.

In each dialogue, resource people from the Rome-Based Agencies and beyond, are invited for a technical introduction followed by interactive sharing of experiences, opportunities, and challenges among National Convenors in break-out groups. These sessions also include other national focal points at the capitals, Members’ Permanent Representatives in Rome, UN Resident Coordinators, as well as Rome-Based Agencies and other UN agencies at regional and country level. These sessions have enabled continued peer-exchange, peer-learning and capacity development within the Convenors networks.

2023 Schedule of Food Systems Solutions Dialogues

This year's dialogues will feature insightful discussions and innovative solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing our global food systems, bringing together Food Systems National Convenors and other government participants, experts, and stakeholders from across various sectors to share experiences and expertise.

Invitations to participate in these dialogues will be extended to National Convenors and other government participants, UN Country Teams, the Food Systems Ecosystem of Support, the United Nations system, and other actors of support.

The Hub will also be organizing Food Systems Solutions webinars which will be open to all interested parties. Further details will be announced shortly.

Date	Session	Objectives	Time (CET)	Languages
More information will be posted soon.

PAST DIALOGUES

Financing food systems transformations – Global opportunities and local needs

The objective of the dialogue was to highlight and discuss opportunities to target and scale up financing for food systems transformation in countries. Finance is both a driver of food system inefficiencies and a vital ingredient to their transformation. The vision for a New Food Finance Architecture released during the Food System Summit identifies the actions areas that governments and the global community must embrace to mobilise private finance and optimise public finance to transform food systems, as well as shift investment practices towards more sustainable, equitable, resilient and profitable business models. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank are co-leading the post-summit work on Food Finance in collaboration with the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub.

Materials

Concept Note and Agenda: English

Presentation on Food Financing: English

Brainstorming with Food Systems Coalitions

How can we create synergies to effectively serve countries transforming their food systems?

Led by the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, this session convened coalition focal points and representatives of their lead agencies and organizations. It focused on identifying the added value that joint work between the Hub and the coalitions could provide to the countries on transforming their food systems.

Materials

Concept Note and Agenda: English

Summary Note: English

Presentation: English

Engaging for food systems transformations – Coalitions of Action

Collective initiatives such as the Coalitions of Action emerged from the Food Systems Summit and are in different stages of development, organization and level of activity. The Hub, as defined in its Work Plan, will connect coalitions and help identify overlaps, complementarities and opportunities for joint action, as well as connect coalitions with countries for accelerating food system transformative actions. This session focused on connecting coalition leads and National Convenors, exploring what coalitions offer and how Convenors can make the best of their country’s engagement in coalitions.

Materials

Concept Note and Agenda: English

Presentation: English

Regional Touch Point - Adapting to shocks in food, energy and finance systems

The UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, together with the FAO Office of the Chief Economist and the Food Workstream of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Crisis Response Group, convened a series of five regional dialogues with the participation of 60 convening teams. Participants discussed the shocks (COVID-19, climate change and conflict) that are affecting national food systems and contributing to challenges faced by food producers, especially those with smallholdings, and by poorer people who cannot access sufficient nutritious food.

Materials

Learning for food systems transformation – Governance, policies and institutions

This dialogue discussed how law, regulations and institutions could support food systems transformation. The session highlighted how food systems transformation can be governed in effective, inclusive, and transparent ways – empowering existing institutions to become more supportive of food systems transformation. The dialogue was framed by a panel where colleagues from the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO) reflected on “the rule of law approaches to enhance good governance for food systems transformation” and a country example on “multistakeholder-based accountability reporting framework in Sweden” was also presented.

Materials

IDLO Presentation: English

Sweden Presentation: English

Learning for food systems transformation – Complementarities to accelerate the Climate Paris Agreement

This dialogue focused on discussing the place of food systems transformation in the climate agenda in the run-up to the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 27). Guiding questions encouraged a reflection on how food systems transformation can be incorporated into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to support climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as main expectations regarding the role of food systems at COP 27.

Materials

The Global Alliance for the Future of Food Presentation: English

Financing food systems transformations – Roles of the private sector

This dialogue discussed how the private sector can be an actor of food systems transformation, what country level mechanisms support scaled-up private sector investments, and how these can be enhanced. Representatives from FAO, WFP, and IFAD presented how each organisation is mobilizing the private sector to accelerate positive transformations towards more resilient and sustainable food systems and National Convenors shared their experiences engaging with the private sector for the implementation of national pathways for food system transformation.

Materials

Food systems for health and nutrition

Transforming food systems for better health and nutrition is a unique and powerful opportunity to help achieve the SDGs by 2030. And yet, poor diets have become a leading global health risk and every year account for 8 million premature deaths globally. This dialogue was led by nutrition stakeholders – including WHO, UN Nutrition and the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN) – to draw attention to the need to put health and nutrition at the centre of food systems transformation, highlighting the win-wins at the nexus of climate and nutrition action and identifying opportunities to scale up policy action and multistakeholder collaboration.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Regional Touchpoint – UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment

The UN Secretary-General has committed in his Statement of Action and Chair’s Summary of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit (FSS) to convene “a global stock-taking meeting every two years to review progress in implementing the outcomes of this process and its contributions to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. This will be supported by the RBAs, the broader UN System and partners.” The first of these Stocktaking Moments will take place in 2023.

In response, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (the Hub) convened a series of five regional dialogues focusing on the preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment in 2023, working with the Regional Offices of the agencies that support the Hub, and other appropriate UN and regional bodies. Participants included National Convenors and their teams, Permanent Representatives to the Rome-based agencies, UN Resident Coordinators, and UN Country Teams.

Materials

Dialogue of Food Systems National Convenors with the FAO Director-General

The UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (the Hub) convened a dialogue between the Food Systems National Convenors and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dr. Qu Dongyu. The purpose of the dialogue was to consolidate understanding of the priorities for the work of the Hub in 2023. Participants included National Convenors and their teams, other government food system focal points, as well as the UN agencies supporting the Hub.

Materials

Planning for the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment

The first Food Systems Solutions dialogue of 2023 was dedicated to a briefing on preparations for the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment in July. Director of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, Stefanos Fotiou, highlighted the efforts underway at a national level, to support countries accelerate the design and implementation of national pathways, and at the regional level, with a series of regional preparatory meeting being held to gather countries' views and capture recommendations.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Meeting Presentation: English

Summary Note: English | French

Financing food systems transformation

Financing for food systems transformation is the first area of support requested by countries. In addition to resources, countries have requested data and tools to inform allocations to food systems. As co-leads of the financing agenda for food systems transformation, IFAD and the World Bank presented the products under development to support countries to operationalize a new Food Finance Architecture.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Summary Note: English

Building multi-stakeholder collaboration

As part of the follow-up process to the Food Systems Summit, the Hub has established the Stakeholder Engagement and Networking Advisory Group (SENA Group) with representatives from Youth, Women, Indigenous Peoples, Producers and Private Sector. The objectives of the SENA Group are to facilitate stakeholder interaction and communication, provide technical advice for participatory consultation methods, help identify opportunities for action and critical gaps, promote inclusiveness and transparency, activate existing networks, and act as thought leaders to disseminate core messages from major stakeholders. In this Dialogue, members of the SENA Group highlighted critical priorities for the Stocktaking Moment from a diverse range of perspectives.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Summary Note: English

Building Resilience

Across the globe, conflict and fragility are on the rise. Resilient food systems are able to provide safe and affordable healthy diets to all – even in the face of structural vulnerabilities, shocks and stressors. To enable more resilient food systems, governments and partners aim to enhance the understanding of the context-specific risks and vulnerabilities of local and national food systems, incorporate these considerations into national policies and plans, and move towards action at the national and local levels.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Summary Note: English

Window of the Joint SDG Fund

The session presented the work in progress in incubating a Joint SDG Fund window on food systems transformations in response to financial support needs expressed in the Country Needs Survey (February 2022) and seek National Convenors’ feedback on the overall direction of the strategy, as well as priority topics for a first funding round in the context of the Stocktaking Moment.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Summary Note: English

Regional Touch Points

These regional discussions, held from the 22-26 May, reviewed the status of preparations for countries' participation in the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment, to be held 24-26 July 2023.

Materials

Meeting Presentation: English

Planning for food systems transformations - Science, Technology and Innovation

The session brought together food systems National Convenors and country representatives with the Science Ecosystem of Support and to discuss country's needs for science-based policies on food systems transformation as well as the question of how the “Scientific Advisory Committee” of the Hub can support the implementation of food systems transformation.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Summary Note: English

Learning for food systems transformation: Gender Mainstreaming

Led by the Coalition of Action Making Food Systems Work for Women and Girls, this Dialogue focused on the linkages between gender equality and food systems transformation. The coalition brings forward the work of the UN Food System Summit - Gender Lever and cluster working groups to foster the implementation of gender and food systems actions in national food systems transformation pathways - as gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to the transition towards sustainable and resilient food systems.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Summary Note: English

UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment: Global Touchpoint with National Convenors

The touchpoints offered National Convenors and government officials a chance to learn more about preparations for the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment, including information on the program, opportunities for National Delegations' involvement, and logistical inquiries. The touchpoint also allowed the Hub to explain how the 101 Voluntary Progress Reports and numerous good practices received informed the Report of the UN Secretary-General on food systems transformation.

Materials

Concept Note: English

Fostering Synergies Between Climate Action and Implementation of Food Systems National Pathways Towards COP28

At the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and COP28 Presidency highlighted their strategic partnership to promote food systems as a key driver for achieving the SDGs and Paris Agreement targets. A significant element of this partnership involves securing the commitment of Heads of State and Governments attending COP28 to sign the first-ever Leaders Declaration on the food systems and climate nexus, marking a historic commitment to address these issues on a global scale. The purpose of this Dialogue was to update National Convenors and government representatives on the progress of the COP28 Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda, including information on the Leaders Declaration, and to gather input from participants on enhancing synergies between climate action and food systems transformation in the Declaration.

Materials

Food Systems Solutions Dialogues