A Global Workshop to chart the future of urban agrifood systems

FAO is bringing together global partners for a groundbreaking Urban Agrifood Systems Workshop, taking place from September 9 to 11 at its headquarters in Rome, Italy.

This event, co-organized with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including representatives from local and national governments, city networks, UN agencies, and organizations working on urban areas' food, health, and environmental issues. The workshop aims to co-develop a comprehensive five-year roadmap with concrete modalities, roles, and actions to clarify how the urban agrifood systems community can best work together to transform agrifood systems within cities and beyond effectively. 

"We are thrilled to be convening a diverse range of stakeholders working on different aspects of urban agrifood systems to plan how we can work together more effectively for collective impact. Our goal is sustainable, equitable, and resilient urban agrifood systems that ensure healthy food for all while tackling social, economic, and environmental challenges. Through enhancing coordination and collaboration between these many stakeholders we can create a roadmap that turns this vision into reality," says Corinna Hawkes, Director of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, FAO.

As cities worldwide face escalating challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, rapid urbanization, social inequity, and food insecurity, this workshop serves as a crucial platform for aligning priorities, fostering collaboration, and driving collective action to address these complex issues.

"Local and regional governments play a crucial role in tackling food system challenges but need greater support. We need to dedicate more finance, build more capacity, and provide more political backing to leverage their transformative potential in reshaping our urban food systems," emphasizes Peter Defranceschi, Head of Brussels Office & Global CityFood Program Coordinator, ICLEI.

The workshop comes at a critical time, building on the momentum from UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai, particularly through the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, which highlighted the role of local and regional governments and partners in transforming agrifood systems, and the released by FAO of its Global Roadmap for Sustainable Food Systems, aiming to transform agrifood systems and help achieve food security. 

The workshop also draws on insights from the recently released report on urban and peri-urban food systems by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN). This report underscores the vital importance of these food systems in achieving food security and nutrition, especially amid rapid urbanization and rural transformation.

Participants engage in interactive sessions to identify gaps and opportunities in current urban agrifood systems, establish common goals, and agree on immediate priorities for action. The workshop will also explore strategies for collaborative resource mobilization to support these initiatives. By mobilizing stakeholders toward a shared vision and collective impact, this event charts the future of urban agrifood systems by supporting local and regional governments in fulfilling their role in agrifood systems transformation within a multilevel governance framework.