Working & Networking on Climate Change and Innovation for Sustainable Agrifood Systems

Climate change significantly impacts all aspects of our agrifood systems, posing serious risks to the well-being of millions of people worldwide who rely on these systems for their livelihoods. Effectively addressing this global challenge requires improved evidence and novel solutions. 

The workshop, titled "Working & Networking on Climate Change and Innovation for Sustainable Agrifood Systems," was jointly organized by IFAD and the University of Palermo. It brought together researchers from various international organizations (FAO, IFAD, World Bank, CGIAR centers) alongside senior scholars and students to present research findings, and methodologies, and identify evidence gaps to tackle the pressing challenges posed by climate change while promoting innovative solutions for sustainable agrifood systems. 

During the event, FAO facilitated a half-day working and networking session aimed at showcasing a wide range of research activities and data sources that FAO leverages to support member countries in developing and implementing policies and programs to address climate change challenges in agrifood systems. This session sought to raise awareness of novel methods, research activities, and data sets that FAO has developed to support evidence-based policy actions.

The three primary themes of the FAO session were: 

1. Strategies and challenges for measuring the impacts of climate change interventions in agrifood systems. 
2. Data innovations, such as geospatial and remote sensing information, digital platforms and services, artificial intelligence, etc., to address the complex challenges posed by climate change in agrifood systems. 
3. Methods and evidence gaps to foster more inclusive and effective climate actions.  

Through this multi-part session, FAO provided practical guidance to overcome methodological challenges and data limitations to fill critical evidence gaps, while highlighting the wide range of innovative research FAO is conducting in the area of climate change adaptation and mitigation.