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Sustainable Food Systems Ciat Strategy Document
Sustainable Food Systems Ciat Strategy Document
Sustainable Food Systems Ciat Strategy Document
communities.
Figure 1. Who the poor are.
In other words, food security or nutritious diets are no longer Improve natural resources
simply about productivity or even availability or affordability
and ecosystem services
of food. They are also about quality and utilization and
distribution of food, about rural and urban consumers’ Today’s food system (from production to consumption)
behaviors and preferences, about the incentives and contributes 19–29% of global greenhouse gas (GHG)
disincentives of the food processors and sellers, and about emissions. While contemporary, conventional farming
Agriculture
2%
Households
4.1%
Processing
Non-food Food
2.8%
85.6% 14.4%
Food service
1.7%
Wholesale &
retail Packaging
2.2% 0.9%
Transportation
0.6%
Box 1. The environmental impact of Ultimately, even the most cursory analysis of what the
food systems world looks like today and where it is likely to be in 20 years
Food systems by default have an environmental time shows that if CIAT wants to continue to positively
impact but, with a growing population and changing impact hundreds of millions of lives on the ground
diets, the different elements of the environmental – and subsequently to continue to be a relevant research
footprint need to be managed. These are: institution in relation to the strategic goals of CGIAR – it
• Energy conversion efficiency from sunlight to is imperative that it updates and widens its scope into a
kilocalories on the plate, including fossil fuel use new food systems-based research agenda. We argue that
and plant-to-animal transformation. adopting a food systems approach constitutes a strategic
• Use of multiple species and landrace diversity framework for such an agenda, positioning CIAT as a
in diets, including neglected and underutilized progressive agenda-setting research center of CGIAR.
foods (e.g., seed, nuts, vegetables, fruits) that
provide dietary quality.
• Agrochemicals, nondegradable plastics,
additives, hormones, and other substances
accumulating in the food trophic chain.
• Preservation of natural ecosystems as the
agricultural frontier continues to expand into
irreplaceable habitats globally.
What are the specific advantages/ work across scales (from the micro, farmer-level to national,
regional and global levels). CIAT is also internationally
niches for CIAT in relation to acknowledged for its capacity to co-design and co-deliver
food systems? research and interventions with local and national partners
(practitioners, private and public institutions, professional
CIAT’s research is characterized by an extraordinarily rich organizations, policy makers, and other key decision
blend of disciplines – from genetics, soil sciences, and makers) on the ground and at national level. More recently,
nutrition, to economics/policy, social sciences, and ecology CIAT has been awarded for its ability to “handle” large multi-
– all of which are indispensable to a full comprehension and source data sets – and is co-leading the CGIAR Platform for
integration of the different dimensions of food systems and Big Data in Agriculture.
their interdependences.
These characteristics are key to CIAT’s ability to engage in the
CIAT has built its international reputation both within and sustainable food systems research agenda, and represent
outside CGIAR on its ability to embrace and adopt systemic/ important comparative advantages. CIAT’s global presence
holistic thinking in many of the problems it addresses, and to in countries (and cities) where food systems transitions are:
Planes de Altamira, c/o Agricultural Genetics Institute (Vien Di Truyen Nong Nghiep),
de Pizza Hut Villa Fontana 1 cuadra al oeste Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS),
Edificio CAR III, 4to. Piso Pham Van Dong Street, Tu Liem
Apartado Postal LM-172 (opposite the Ministry of Security – Doi dien voi Bo Cong An)
Managua, Nicaragua Hanoi, Vietnam
Phone: +505 2 2993011 / 22993056 Phone: +844 37576969
CONTACT CONTACT
Jenny Wiegel, Regional Coordinator Dindo Campilan, Regional Director
j.wiegel@cgiar.org d.campilan@cgiar.org
A CGIAR Research Center
www.ciat.cgiar.org
www.cgiar.org