Ramya Ambikapathi, during an HLPE-FSN drafting team meeting at ILRI Campus, in Nairobi, Kenia, February 2024.
©CFS HLPE-FSN/Silvia Meiattini
The HLPE-FSN is looking for ad hoc experts to draft the report on “Building resilient food systems”, to be launched in June 2025. The report will provide recommendations to the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS)' workstream of the same title under the focus area: “Fostering resilience of agriculture and food systems to shocks and stresses".
Send your application to become an HLPE-FSN expert using this link
All applications will be treated confidentially.
Deadline: 12 June 2024
The selected experts will be responsible to contribute, according to the agreed division of responsibilities and disciplinary background as guided by the team leader, to the preparation of the report and the submission of its successive drafts and deliverables, in close collaboration with the HLPE-FSN Steering Committee, made up of 15 world-renowned scientists in a variety of food security and nutrition related fields, and in coordination with the HLPE-FSN Secretariat.
Selected experts will have the opportunity to serve as co-authors of the HLPE-FSN flagship report and actively participate in the CFS public debate focused on resilience, as integral members of the HLPE-FSN initiative. Additionally, they may engage in various public events and publications, providing opportunities for broader dissemination of their expertise and insights, should they desire and circumstances allow.
Selected experts will participate in the work of the HLPE-FSN in their individual capacities, not as representatives of their respective governments, institutions or organizations.
The HLPE-FSN Steering Committee will ensure that the final composition of the report's drafting team ensures diversity of required scientific competencies, as well as the best possible age, gender and geographical representation balance, as well as a compact and functional team. The competencies available within the team will be complemented by those available within the HLPE-FSN Steering Committee. It is expected that two face-to-face or hybrid meetings of three days each will be organized during the elaboration of the report, complemented by weekly or bi-weekly virtual meetings. Assignments are unremunerated, although all related expenses will be covered by the HLPE-FSN Secretariat.
Among the specific responsibilities of selected experts are the following:
For more detailed information on the HLPE-FSN report process, please consult the HLPE-FSN procedures.
Candidates will need to be renowned scientists and experts in food security and nutrition. Among specific technical areas that may be represented in the team are the following:
Candidates should possess the following:
Candidates must note that the time commitment to the project is expected to be around 10 percent equivalent full time, with peak periods at critical stages of the report preparation process. Young experts are encouraged to apply.
During its 51st plenary session (23-27 October 2023), the CFS adopted its four-year Programme of Work (MYPOW 2024-2027), which includes a request to its High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) to produce a report on “Building resilient food systems” to be presented at the 53rd plenary session of the CFS in October 2025.
The text of the CFS request is as follows:
Global challenges to food security and nutrition, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, extreme weather events due to climate change, natural disasters, loss of biodiversity and land degradation, reveal structural vulnerabilities of agriculture and food systems. These shocks and stresses may disrupt food value chains and, when combined with other factors such as financial or economic crises, may lead to unaffordability and/or unavailability of healthy food. There are also deep inequalities and unsustainable practices in the current food distribution and marketing systems. There is wide recognition of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of agriculture and food systems, and growing calls to improve their functioning so that they are able to respond to current and future challenges, seeking to diversify sources of inputs, production, markets, supply chain and actors, supporting the creation of small and medium-sized companies, cooperatives, consortiums and other groups to maintain diversity in the agriculture and food value chains. Given the increased frequency of shocks to agriculture and food systems in recent years and the growing risks from a range of sources, it is imperative to explore more deeply how they can be made more resilient – that is, more capable of recovering, adapting and transforming in the face of shocks – as well as more equitable and sustainable, so that they are able to support all dimensions of food security. Understanding the different types of vulnerabilities of agriculture and food systems, and their implications for the different actors involved, will enable CFS to provide a space for exchange and convergence on the policy measures needed to enhance the resilience of local, regional and global food supply chains, including consideration of inclusive and equitable employment opportunities, the role of trade, environmental sustainability, access to healthy diets and human rights.
The objective of the workstream is to create a set of focused, action-oriented policy recommendations on “Building resilient food systems” as a key means of achieving the CFS vision, SDG2, and an array of other SDGs, including SDGs SDG 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15, as a result of the contribution that agriculture and food systems make to livelihoods and natural systems. The workstream will benefit from the findings and recommendations of an HLPE-FSN report.
To learn more about the report and the ongoing consultation on its scope, please click here
To apply to the HLPE-FSN drafting team expert call, please click here.
