Independent Food Systems Summit Dialogue: Unleashing Innovation to Transform Local Food Systems

In September 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will convene the first Food Systems Summit to launch bold new actions to transform the way the world produces and consumes food, delivering progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Leading up to the event, Independent Food Systems Summit Dialogues are being convened to crowdsource sustainable, locally based, locally led, and fully adaptable solutions to strengthen local and global food systems from a diverse range of stakeholders. These dialogues aim to identify the most powerful ways to make food systems more sustainable and equitable for all, offering stakeholders across the globe opportunities to contribute to the summit’s vision and objectives.

Hosted by CropLife International in partnership with the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, Cornell Alliance for Science, Global Farmer Network, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, and Thought for Food, Unleashing Innovation to Transform Local Food Systems was an Independent Food Systems Summit Dialogue focusing on innovation challenges, opportunities, synergies, and areas of divergence that exist across major agricultural regions, as well as common priorities at the global level. Two sessions were organized, with the first focusing on Africa and the Middle East, North Asia, and South Asia, and the second covering North America, Latin America, and Europe.

In line with other Independent Food Systems Summit Dialogues, each session began with an introduction for all participants, followed by breakout discussion groups, with participants assigned based on their region so that more substantive discussions could occur. The dialogues then reconvened for a concluding session, during which each group was given the opportunity to summarize their findings.

Dr. Vibha Ahuja, South Asia Biosafety Program Senior Advisor, served as the facilitator for the South Asia breakout group. Drs. Andrew Roberts, Rachel Melnick, and Bhavneet Bajaj participated in the event.

Outcomes from the dialogue were submitted by event organizers and are accessible at this link.