The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation in Transforming Food Systems Globally

Abstract

Although much progress has been made in past decades, the prospects for food and nutrition security are now deteriorating and the converging crises of climate change and Covid-19 present major risks for nutrition and health, and challenges to the development of sustainable food systems. In 2018, the InterAcademy Partnership published a report on the scientific opportunities and challenges for food and nutrition security and agriculture based on four regional reports by academy networks in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. The present chapter draws on new evidence from the regions reaffirming the continuing rapid pace of science, technology and innovation and the need to act urgently worldwide to capitalise on the new opportunities to transform food systems. We cover issues around sustainable, healthy food systems in terms of the whole food value chain, including consumption and waste, the interconnections between agriculture and natural resources, and the objectives for developing a more balanced food production strategy (for land and sea) to deliver nutritional, social and environmental benefits. Our focus is on science, and we discuss a range of transdisciplinary research opportunities that can underpin the UN FSS Action Tracks, inform the introduction of game-changers, and provide core resources to stimulate innovation, inform practice and guide policy decisions. Academies of science, with their strengths of scientific excellence, inclusiveness, diversity and the capacity to link the national, regional and global levels, are continuing to support the scientific community’s a key role in catalysing action. Our recommendations concentrate on priorities around building the science base - including the recognition of the importance of fundamental research - to generate diverse yet equitable solutions for providing sustainable, healthy diets that are culturally sensitive and attend to the needs of vulnerable populations. We also urge better use of the transdisciplinary science base to advise policymaking, and suggest that this would be greatly advanced by constituting an international advisory Panel for Food and Nutrition Security, with particular emphasis on sustainable food systems.