1325. The Importance of a Systems Approach to Agricultural Food Systems Transformation

Actions in agricultural food systems have great potential to accelerate the achievement of a wide range of goals, including increasing agricultural productivity, improving nutrition and health, enhancing environmental sustainability, promoting inclusive economic growth and livelihoods, and reducing gender and other inequalities. Recognizing this, the United Nations has identified food systems as one of six critical turning points needed to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Against this backdrop, policymakers and practitioners at all levels—global, national, and local—are increasingly focusing on agri-food systems. However, food insecurity, malnutrition, and inequalities persist. Threats such as unhealthy diets, antimicrobial resistance, overuse and degradation of land and water, and biodiversity loss continue to grow. Climate change, conflict, economic uncertainty, and political instability further hinder the achievement of the right to adequate food and the 2030 Agenda. Business as usual does not appear to be sufficient to put agri-food systems on a sustainable, resilient, and healthy path. Global challenges are interconnected and interdependent, and addressing them requires adjusting synergies and trade-offs between various goals and balancing immediate needs with future risks and benefits.

A recently published FAO report, "Transforming food and agriculture through a systems approach," recommends adopting a systems approach to transforming agri-food systems through policies, programs, projects, and interventions. Drawing on examples of countries, regions and cities already taking practical steps, the report provides practical information to support policymakers and practitioners in making informed decisions to unlock the potential of agri-food systems at scale and generate sustainable benefits.

The report also includes a glossary of agri-food systems terms, highlighting key concepts below:

Agrifood systems
Agrifood systems encompass the journey of food from farm to table – including how it is grown, fished, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, purchased, prepared, consumed, disposed of, and reused. They also include non-food products that support livelihoods, and all the people, activities, investments, and decisions involved in delivering these food and agricultural products.

Agrifood systems resilience
The capacity over time of agrifood systems, in the face of any disruption, to sustainably ensure availability of and access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all, and sustain the livelihoods of agrifood systems’ actors.

Agrifood systems transformation
The deliberate and ongoing process of changing how agrifood systems function towards the sustained improvement of multiple interconnected outcomes at scale, including agricultural productivity; nutrition and health; environmental sustainability; inclusive economic growth and livelihoods; and reduced inequalities.　While transformation can be catalysed by shocks, it often emerges from the cumulative effect of actions that build over time. Through accelerating progress towards these goals, transformed agrifood systems would bring significant improvements for food security for current and future generations.

（Reference）
FAO. 2025. Transforming food and agriculture through a systems approach. Rome.
https://doi.org/10.4060/cd6071en

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki, Information Program