A huge increase in investment for innovation in sustainable agri-food systems (SAS) will be critical for meeting the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.
Currently only a small fraction of investment addresses environmental or social goals together with productivity increase. A major challenge for both innovators and innovation investors is determining whether an investment ‘counts’ as one likely to promote both environmental and/or social sustainability. A way forward is to establish a clear set of principles for determining which innovations and innovation processes count as promoting SAS, together with guidance for how to operationalize these principles. Currently though there is a gap in the intersecting area of principles for innovation in SAS, with various principles existing for sustainable agriculture (in general), and others for innovation and innovation systems. For this reason, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) set out to create principles that cover both the outcomes and processes of innovation in SAS.
This report presents the Principles for Innovation in Sustainable Agri-Food Systems as developed by a multi-stakeholder group of research agencies, investors, private sector and NGO representatives, and watchdog organizations. It describes the process including task force composition, public consultation, pre-piloting and next steps. The report furthermore provides background for the selection of principles and describes the operationalization framework for the pilot version of the Principles as developed until December 2021.
The Digital Innovation Strategy (DIS) of the Regional Office for Africa (RAF) of FAO has been prepared to respond to critical challenges facing inclusive and sustainable agrifood system transformation in sub-Saharan Africa. It is enshrined in the new Strategic framework...
The world’s population is likely to reach 9 billion by the middle of this century. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) believes that 60 per cent more food will be needed by 2050 to sustain all...
Food systems are at a crossroads. Profound transformation is needed to address Agenda 2030 and to achieve food security and nutrition (FSN) in its four dimensions of availability, access, utilization and stability, and to face multidimensional and complex challenges, including...
The study was designed to answer the following three key questions:
(1) What types of investment instruments have been tested to support innovation in agri-food systems in the Global South, and how can these be categorized into a working typology?...
Agriculture is crucial for the livelihood of millions of people worldwide and is one of the main drivers of deforestation, biodiversity loss and resource degradation. The contribution of agriculture to these environmental problems has been exacerbated by subsidies, which constitute...