FAO Statement at HLPF 2023 – SDGs in focus: SDG 17 and interlinkages with other SDGs - Partnerships for the Goals (Science, technology and innovation: Triggering transformation and sustaining a science driven recovery)

SDGs in focus: SDG 17 and interlinkages with other SDGs – Partnerships for the Goals

Science, technology and innovation: Triggering transformation and sustaining a science driven recovery

Food and Agriculture lie at the heart of the 2030 Agenda: from ending poverty and hunger to responding to climate change and sustaining our natural resources.

Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) contribute to the much-needed transformation of agriculture and food systems to feed the world’s growing population, helping to produce more food of greater nutritional value, reduce food loss and waste, and manage natural resources sustainably.  

The FAO Science and Innovation Strategy, endorsed by Members one year ago, aims to strengthen FAO to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges of agrifood systems in an equitable, inclusive, and sustainable manner. Its pillars leverage science and evidence-based decision-making and support innovation and technology at the global, regional, and country levels.

Through the STI Strategy Action Plan, FAO assists Members in applying STI in digital agriculture, agroecological approaches, biotechnologies, conservation of agricultural biodiversity, combatting antimicrobial resistance, improving crop and animal health, and more. For example:

The Hand-in-Hand Initiative uses big data and geospatial information systems to identify needs and agricultural potential, propose tailor-made responses, and match donors with recipient countries, aiming to accelerate progress toward SDG 1 and SDG 2.

The Regional Decision Lab Kenya and Mozambique, and the Digital Agriculture Innovation Hubs in Dominica, Ethiopia, Grenada, and Morocco, resulted in behaviour change pilots and digital technology opportunities co-created with stakeholders.

The knowledge product ‘Introducing the Agrifood Systems Technologies & Innovations Outlook (ATIO)’ launched last year during the Science and Innovation Forum, curates information on the current, measurable state of STI, upcoming changes, and their transformative potential, to inform evidence-based policy dialogue and decisions.

Finally, FAO is firmly committed to the work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Team on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (IATT), and strongly supports the expansion of the IATT’s Global Pilot Programme on Science, Technology, and Innovation for SDGs Roadmaps.