Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Call for submissions

From Foresight to Field: Exploring regional and multistakeholder perspectives to implement a foresight on emerging technologies and innovations in agrifood systems

In 2023, FAO’s Office of Innovation (OIN) in collaboration with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), published the Global foresight synthesis report “Harvesting change: Harnessing emerging technologies and innovations for agrifood system transformation[1]. The report explores the critical role of technology and innovation in transforming agrifood systems to address future challenges in the attempt to shorten the time lag between research and investment innovation phases and the uptake of technology and innovation, thus creating preparedness an ensuring inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems transformation.

Furthermore, the report explores five potential future scenarios for agrifood systems’ technologies and innovations in 2050 and beyond. These five global scenarios offer a glimpse into the potential futures of agrifood systems depending on the emergence of technologies and innovations and their enabling environment. By understanding these possibilities, stakeholders can make informed decisions about the development and use of technologies and innovations to create a more sustainable and equitable agrifood systems.

To deepen an understanding of the potential pathways of the agrifood system transformation at regional level, OIN team is calling stakeholders to contribute to the full foresight report that will build on the synthesis report and elaborate further on the regional pathways of transformation. The results of your submissions will be analysed and acknowledged in the full foresight report, but more importantly, will be used to inform anticipatory strategic planning at regional and national levels, equipping stakeholders with the capacity not only to envision possible future scenarios, but also to proactively influence them by concrete steps towards desirable future.

Since the global foresight synthesis report is published only in English, the OIN team has prepared the background document that is available in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). This document can serve as a reference for completing the template for submissions.

The submission findings will be featured during FAO’s multistakeholder workshop "FutureFood-I Lab in action: Cultivating Innovation for Agrifood Systems’ Transformation" (June 2024, Italy). The full foresight report will help raise awareness about importance of anticipatory approaches, as well as contribute to a global discussion about the potential of the technologies and innovations to transform agrifood systems of the future. 

Contributions are welcome in six UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Proceedings of the contributions received will be made publicly available on this webpage.

This call for submissions is open until 10 June 2024.

We thank participants in advance and sincerely hope that your contributions will also bring in valuable insights from diverse regions.

Co-facilitators:

  • Dr Nevena Alexandrova-Stefanova, Agricultural Extension Officer, Office of Innovation (OIN), FAO
  • Ms ZofiaKrystyna Mroczek, Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Specialist, OIN, FAO


How to take part in this call for submissions:

To take part in this Call for submissions, please register to the FSN Forum, if you are not yet a member, or “sign in” to your account. Please download the submission template in any of six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and upload the completed form in the box “Post your contribution” on this webpage.  For any technical questions or assistance please contact [email protected].


[1]  The work on the synthesis and full foresight reports is the result of the fruitful collaboration of the OIN’s multidisciplinary team under the guidance of the OIN Director, Vincent Martin, including Nevena Alexandrova-Stefanova, Zofia Krystyna Mroczek, Kacper Nosarzewski, Norbert Kolos, Jieqiong Wan and Nikola Trendov, with CIRAD, namely Patrice Djamen and Sarah Audouin. Key contributions to the work have been made also by the International Agri-food Network, and diverse experts and stakeholders from around the globe.

 

This activity is now closed. Please contact [email protected] for any further information.

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Office of Innovation

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN FAO
Italy

Dear colleagues, experts and stakeholders,

Heartfelt thanks for your interest and extremely valuable contributions to the call. Reading from you has been a truly inspiring learning experience that will inform several FAO foresight-related initiatives, and in particular the full foresight report on the emerging technologies and innovations in the agrifood systems, where your contributions will be duly acknowledged.

We will keep you informed about our foresight initiatives, stay tuned!

Many thanks again from the co-facilitators FAO's Office of Innovation:

Dr Nevena Alexandrova-Stefanova, Agricultural Extension Officer 

Ms ZofiaKrystyna Mroczek, Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Specialist

 

AGRI - JRC

Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Belgium

Dear colleagues,

Please find attached our joint DG AGRI- JRC contribution to the call. Please let us know if we should specify the names of the contributing experts.

All the best

Yulia Barabanova, PhD

Policy Analyst 

European Commission 

Joint Research Centre

EU Policy Lab: Foresight, Design and Behavioural Insights (JRC S1)

Belgium

OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership is honored to offer this submission to the FSN Forum  From Foresight to Field: Exploring regional and multistakeholder perspectives to implement a foresight on emerging technologies and innovations in agrifood systems.  OMNIA's proven social innovation is to empower local marganilized communities in the African and Asian nations where we work through a hyperlocal and inclusive gathering of interfaith leaders.  Interfaith Peacemaking Teams engage with their communities to identify urgent needs and relevant, achievable, and winnable solutions. Here we describe our activities in Kenya where hunger, poverty, and food insecurity in the face of climate change threaten the health and welfare of fisher and farmer peoples living in lands along Lake Victoria.  Please reach out to us if you find our work favorable to yours so we can share technological solutions to accelerate our work in Kenya and other regions interested in sustainable and resilient cage aquaculture.

Please see my submission attached.

Your team may be interested in my new book "A practical guide to rebooting the planet through tropical agriculture and putting farmers first' - see attached

Best wishes

Roger

Prof RRB Leakey
 

Dr. Jemina Moeng

Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
South Africa

Good day

Kindly see find my inputs.

Harvesting change: Harnessing emerging technologies and innovations for agrifood Global foresight synthesis report systems transformation: Global foresight synthesis report

South Africa’s inputs into the topic of “From Foresight to Field: Exploring regional and multistakeholder perspectives to implement a foresight on emerging technologies and innovations in agrifood systems,” is premised on the reality that producers/farmers have indigenous knowledge that has stood them in good stead over centuries and therefore technologies and innovations should build upon their past experiences. Producers at all levels, be it subsistence, smallholder and commercial levels play a critical role in the agrifood systems transformation, farming at all stages has an impact on the environment, hence the need for holistic approach towards agrifood systems. 

Critical to the development of technologies and innovations is the level of consultation and partnerships that occur amongst all stakeholders. At the Regional stakeholder engagements, the role of current policies and legislation are critical for the development of new technologies and innovations. Indeed, the ability of multi-stakeholders to collaborate and fund the development of technologies and innovations enables timeous implementation of these for supporting pathways of agrifood systems. 

South Africa has the National government sphere that has concurrent functions with Provincial Departments, for some of the key Departments. The National sphere provides Policy and legislative guidelines whilst Provincial Departments are the implementing arm of government, therefore working very closely with farmers/producers. A collaboration nexus exists between the National, Provincial and Local spheres with the producers/farmers at the centre. The five scenarios provided by the report become applicable to the SA situation. 

The SA dialogues involved all these stakeholders and the re-initiation of these dialogues to implement pathways will assist in igniting the food systems transformation deliberations. 

Consideration of additional drivers of agrifood systems for emergence of technology and innovation should be added as follows: 

  1. The missing middle, these are youth above 18 years, enrolled at tertiary institutions – they are outside government school feeding programmes and not getting any form of government grants due to their age. Their livelihood support depends on other sources of income such as bursaries that “might” have student allowances. Introducing farming technologies at this level will enhance the ability of this grouping to generate their own food and other forms of income. A further missing middle category are adults at 60 years and above. Technologies for agrifood systems for this category will lesson the burden of hard labour involved in farming.  
  2. Supply and Demand Estimates (knowing where we are in terms of food availability) as a source of information should guide the types of technology and innovation that get introduced. 

Leveraging private sector support for innovations will enhance further coverage and use of such innovations – the role of Institutions of Learning becomes critical.

Raugathe Crucis Arcturus BOULINGUI

RADDEV

République du Congo

[email protected]

Afrique Subsaharienne

Autres: individuel

1- Les trois technologies et innovations qui ont le potentiel d'accélérer l'inclusion, la durabilité et la résilience sont:

  • imagerie satellitaire en temps réel, système de positionnement et SIG autonomes;
  • Biotechnologies environnementales;
  • Obligation à impact social.

2- On ne saurait apprécier et même de manière cohérente les compromis en cas d'application de ces technologies et innovations émergentes dans la plupart des pays moins avancés bien qu'envisageant les partenariats l'un des compromis de nos jours.

3- Les pays à revenu intermédiaires et faibles se doivent d'être aux rendez-vous des programmes des institutions facilitatrices du changement dans les domaines de transformation agroalimentaire à l'instar de la FAO pour atteindre les capacités nécessaires. La FAO aurait comme rôle de renforcer le recours à la science et à l'innovation dans l'ensemble de son programme de travail, en accordant une attention particulière aux bureaux de pays.

4- "Gouvernance et commerce" est le domaine d'application dans lequel nous voyons des percées majeurs dans les 10 à 20 prochaines années dans le cas de notre pays.

5- Les trois déclencheurs de changement les plus importants qui pourraient permettre un développement rapide des technologies et innovations émergentes dans notre régions sont:

  • l'innovation basée sur la nature et les écosystèmes;
  • Technologies de stockage d'énergie;
  • Obligation à impact social.

6- Le scénario B relatif au " Désordre et confusion dans les technologies et les innovations" est celui qui de près est plausible à raison de nombreuses inégalités et injustices observées auprès des agriculteurs surtout vulnérables au sein de la République du Congo.

7-   Ce rapport pour notre pays ( République du Congo) sert d'orientation consistant à planifier la vision à long terme de la politique du secteur agroalimentaire.