How farmer-led innovation can help food systems prepare for future shocks

Food systems are facing shocks that increasingly overlap. Disruptions to fertilizer, fuel and other agricultural inputs are unfolding alongside heatwaves, droughts and floods, affecting production, food prices and nutrition.

But farmers are not waiting for the next crisis to adapt.

On 6 August, a webinar organized by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (SAC) explored how farmers are already responding to changing conditions, and what governments can do to make those efforts easier to adopt and sustain.

Moderated by Prof Jean-François Soussana, SAC Co-Chair and Vice-President for International Policy at INRAE, the discussion focused on farmer-led innovation, agricultural diversification and how national food systems transformation pathways can help countries prepare for future shocks.

Building resilience on the farm

Across different regions and farming systems, diversification is already helping farmers reduce their exposure to shocks.

Prof Thomas Cherico Wanger of Agroscope and the Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy at China Agricultural University presented evidence showing how more diversified farming systems can reduce dependence on synthetic inputs while supporting productivity and resilience. These approaches include legume rotations, agroforestry, greater crop and varietal diversity, biofertilizers and more efficient nutrient use.

Many farmers are already adapting in these ways. Prof Shenggen Fan, SAC Co-Chair, pointed to farmers shifting between crops when rainfall patterns change, diversifying their sources of income and making greater use of organic fertilizers. Dr Mohamed Ait Kadi, SAC Member, shared examples of farmers in Morocco adopting water-saving practices, conservation agriculture and crop varieties better adapted to shorter rainfall windows.

“Farmers are already innovating. Policy must meet them where they are,” Dr Ait Kadi said.

Women also play an important role in how households and communities respond to shocks. Dr Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, SAC Chair, highlighted their contributions to producing diverse crops, managing home gardens and preserving food. Practical technologies, training and finance for women's organizations can help protect household food security and nutrition during periods of stress.

Making farmer-led innovation easier to adopt

Changing a production system is rarely simple, often coming with costs and risks. Diversification can bring benefits, but farmers may need new knowledge, equipment or market arrangements. Markets built around uniform commodities can also make diversified production harder to sell.

Speakers emphasized that farmers should not have to carry these risks alone. Longer-term finance, insurance, research, advisory services and investment can give them greater room to test and sustain new approaches.

Farmers also need a say in what those approaches look like. Prof Wanger stressed the importance of involving them in deciding “the what, where and how” of the technologies and support intended for them.

The discussion also considered how agricultural support can encourage nutritious and environmentally beneficial crops, improve organic fertilizers and help farmers use nutrients more efficiently. Prof Fan highlighted the importance of social protection when higher prices put nutritious diets out of reach, especially for women and children.

Some solutions begin after food has already left the field. Reducing post-harvest losses and strengthening local processing can help communities get more from what they already produce. As Dr Ait Kadi noted, protecting food already produced can increase availability without requiring additional land or water.

Preparing before the next crisis

Many of these changes depend on decisions that extend well beyond individual farms.

At national level, food systems transformation pathways can provide a framework for bringing together sectors that often plan separately, including agriculture, health and education. Dr Thilsted emphasized that countries now need the finance and human capacity to implement their pathways, alongside stronger cooperation and learning between countries.

Prof Fan also called for a systems approach to public investment, so that infrastructure and agricultural research contribute to food security, nutrition, health and climate objectives.

Closing the webinar, Prof Soussana highlighted the potential of national pathways as practical tools for preparedness, implementation and coordination. Stronger connections between science, policy and society can help countries adapt national priorities to local realities and respond more effectively when shocks occur.

Many of the tools needed to build resilience already exist, and farmers are already adapting and testing solutions on the ground. The next step is to ensure that policy, finance and national food systems processes help those solutions take hold before the next crisis arrives.

Watch the recording