What CFS54 revealed about making food systems policies work

In Haiti, a local farmers' network is working to sustain agricultural production despite insecurity and disrupted markets. In Madagascar, a national dialogue has helped bring food systems priorities into the country's climate commitments. And in Bhutan, an international gathering challenged policymakers, academics and food systems practitioners to reconsider how their own values influence the decisions they make. Each experience highlights a challenge facing countries as they work to ensure that food systems policies respond to the realities and needs of communities.

At the 54^th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS54), held in Rome from 19 to 23 October 2026, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (the Hub) and its partners explored these challenges through three side events, examining the role of values and consciousness in policymaking, the need for better coordination across institutions and the importance of country-led action in even the most difficult settings.

The people behind the policies

At the first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit, held earlier this year in Paro, Bhutan, participants moved beyond traditional conference discussions through interactive workshops and guided reflection, exploring how their values and relationships influence their approach to food systems transformation.

The approach grew from a belief that food systems cannot be transformed through technical solutions alone. The values that guide policymakers and  the relationships between institutions influence decisions that shape how food is produced and consumed, while the ability to build a common vision through trust will determine whether policies have a lasting impact.

Those ideas were brought to Rome at a side event organized by the Hub, the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA).

“We cannot transform food systems without transforming the way we think, the way we relate to nature and each other,” said H.E. Tshering Lhadn, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bhutan.

For Carlos Watson, Director of the Hub, the discussion raised an important question about whose knowledge informs food systems policies. Farmers and food producers, he observed, have long understood the connections between land and water, and how these affect their livelihoods. Yet the people working within food systems often have limited opportunities to influence international decisions. He argued that policymaking should draw more directly on their experience. “Policies are what connects us to each other, our environment, and what shapes our collective future,” he said.

The discussion challenged the separation of values from governance. Decisions about agricultural subsidies or land use inevitably reflect judgments about whose needs matter and which outcomes deserve priority. Recognizing these connections can help shape policies that are more inclusive and responsive to the people they affect.

The difficulty of making policies work together

Agricultural policy is closely connected to climate action. Nutrition programmes depend partly on how food is produced and distributed. Yet responsibility for these issues is frequently divided among ministries with separate budgets and priorities.

The result can be a collection of individually well-intentioned policies that are difficult to implement together.

At the side event Convergence and Coherence in Action: Policy Lessons and Partnerships for Resilient Food Systems and Healthy Diets, governments and international partners examined efforts to overcome these divisions. The event was co-organized together with the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems Programme, FAO and Brazil's Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, with support from the UN-Nutrition Secretariat.

Opening the discussion, Carlos Watson emphasized that policy coherence must go beyond aligning commitments on paper. Khaled Eltaweel, Senior Programme Coordinator at the Hub, shared lessons from the Food Systems and Climate Action Convergence Initiative, which has supported 22 countries and three subregional dialogues in identifying shared priorities and strengthening coordination.

In Madagascar, Anthony Ngororano, UN Resident Coordinator, described how a Hub-supported national dialogue helped identify food systems measures subsequently incorporated into the country's updated national climate commitments, NDC 3.0.

Brazil offered another example. Janine Giuberti Coutinho, Advisor at the Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition in Brazil's Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger, presented the country's Food Systems and Climate Reference Framework, launched at COP30. Through the PAS COACT initiative, Brazil is drawing on national experience to encourage international cooperation.

In Switzerland, the development of the Climate Strategy for Agriculture and Food 2050 brought together federal offices and stakeholders from different sectors. Alwin Kopse, Assistant Deputy Director-General and Head of International Affairs at Switzerland's Federal Office for Agriculture, explained how the process helped establish a shared direction, while acknowledging that aligning investments and implementation remains an ongoing task.

Corinna Hawkes, Director of FAO's Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, described policy coherence as a process requiring trust between institutions and difficult choices between competing priorities.

Stineke Oenema, Senior Policy Advisor for Food Security and Nutrition for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a supporter of the Hub's Convergence Initiative, highlighted the exchange between global initiatives and national experience. Lessons from countries can inform international cooperation, while global partnerships can help strengthen national policies.

Looking ahead to COP31, H.E. Dr. Ahmet Bağcı, representing Türkiye's incoming COP31 Presidency, presented the Turquoise Nexus Initiative, which seeks to strengthen cooperation across food, water and climate policies.

These experiences showed that agreeing on common objectives is only the beginning. Governments must also find ways to coordinate the institutions and resources responsible for achieving them.

When food insecurity meets institutional fragility

In countries affected by conflict and prolonged crises, poor coordination can have particularly severe consequences. Emergency assistance remains essential, but repeated crises can destroy the livelihoods on which lasting food security depends.

The Hub's third side event, Catalysing Transformation: Multilateral, Country-Led and Local Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Complex Settings, examined how immediate assistance can be connected with longer-term resilience. The event was co-organized together with the SUN Movement Secretariat, FAO, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), ActionAid International, the Eastern and Southern Africa Small-Scale Farmers’ Forum, AsiaDHRRA, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and the Global Network Against Food Crises. 

Joanne Raisin, Director of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Secretariat, called for international assistance to build on national plans rather than create parallel initiatives.

Building on this point, Khaled Eltaweel, Senior Programme Coordinator at the Hub, raised a practical question: how can global commitments lead to lasting results for people living through complex crises? He emphasized that, in these settings, national food systems pathways are more than planning documents. They provide a shared framework through which governments and humanitarian, development and peace actors can work towards common priorities, guiding where partners invest and how support is sequenced. He also highlighted the Hub's recent cooperation with 13 African countries to strengthen connections between food systems, climate action and resilience.

Gabriel Ferrero, Senior Strategy Advisor to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), reinforced the importance of country-led approaches, emphasizing the need to give local producers and communities greater influence over investments.

Country experiences illustrated the stakes.

In Yemen, Karima Al Hada'a, Technical SUN Focal Point and Assistant National Food Systems Convenor at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, described how the SUN Movement is strengthening coordination through a shared multisectoral plan, giving national institutions greater responsibility for directing support.

In Haiti, Elizabeth Richard, Head of Programmes at ActionAid Haiti, shared how a GAFSP-supported partnership with a local farmers' network is sustaining agricultural production despite insecurity. The initiative aims to support approximately 10,000 families.

The panel also examined how international institutions can better support countries facing recurring crises. Habib Mayar, Deputy Director General of the g7+ and representative of the Global Network Against Food Crises, emphasized peacebuilding and genuine country ownership. H.E. Andreas von Brandt, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Organizations in Rome, called for closer cooperation among the Rome-based UN agencies.

Ron Hartman, Director of Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization at IFAD, discussed the agencies' joint Blueprint under UN80, which aims to improve how they combine their expertise in support of national priorities.

Closing the event, Lauren Phillips, Director of FAO's Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division, argued that international partners should make better use of existing institutions rather than continually creating new ones, with greater attention to results for communities.

Bringing decisions closer to the people they affect

The three events reflected different dimensions of the same challenge: ensuring that international commitments lead to improvements in people's lives.

The UN Food Systems Coordination Hub works with governments, National Convenors, UN country teams and stakeholders to support nationally led food systems transformation, connecting country priorities with international expertise and partnerships.

The experiences shared at CFS54 showed how much depends on cooperation between institutions and the communities they serve. Whether developing climate policies or sustaining food production during conflict, progress requires national leadership and sustained support that responds to local realities.