Replicating examples of successful food system transformation

“Vietnam is one of the countries where CGIAR has spent a lot of effort and priority,” said Dr. Juan Lucas Restrepo, CGIAR Global Director for Partnerships and Policy Advocacy cum Bioversity and CIAT Alliance General Manager.

According to Dr. Juan Lucas, Vietnam is one of the countries where CGIAR has worked in a synchronous and throughout manner with governments at all levels, from central to local, along with research organizations, the private units, and farmers in the country. CGIAR aims to accelerate the food system transformation that Vietnam is currently experiencing.

Many of CGIAR’s centers and members have implemented projects and proposed initiatives to help the Vietnamese have a healthy diet, ensuring nutrition, hygiene, and food safety. Most recently, at the end of March 2023, the project "Market-based approaches to improving the safety of pork in Vietnam" (SafePORK) contributed to reducing the rate of Salmonella infection in retail pork at traditional markets from 52% to 24%.

Building on the existing results, CGIAR is committed to continuing to support Vietnam in developing and implementing National Action Plan for Vietnam Food System Transformation towards Transparency, Responsibility and Sustainability by 2030, resulting from the participation process of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS).

As a global partner unifying international organizations engaged in food security research, CGIAR has worked with hundreds of countries to introduce science and innovation to reduce hunger and promote agricultural development on a global scale.

From growing food crops to building irrigation systems and making an impact on certain policies, CGIAR’s organizations on the globe have launched many initiatives that bring benefits to hundreds of millions of the world's poor. CGIAR's research focuses not only on enhancing food security and improving human health and nutrition but also sustainable management of natural resources. These are also matters that Vietnam, the host country, as well as other countries, organizations, and individuals attending the 4^th Global Conference on the Sustainable Food Systems Programme pay special attention to.

Through the conference, the CGIAR's Director for Partnerships and Policy Advocacy expressed his wish that the participating parties would strengthen exchanges, inspire and motivate each other to achieve specific and practical actions in the food system development; especially in the implementation of national paths to transform the food systems towards the time of the UN assessment in the third quarter of 2023.

"We hope this will be a forum where successful examples like Vietnam's can be shared with other countries and regions, creating a basis for discussion on how to replicate successful models. The upcoming conference is expected to help strengthen the dialogue between the agriculture industry and the environment industry,” said Dr. Juan Lucas

The present global challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and increased malnutrition, are still being tackled in a single-disciplinary manner. Without a new and dynamic reform mechanism for partnerships, knowledge, and assets, challenges in the "new food crisis", such as the right to adequate nutrition at affordable prices, ensure people's livelihoods and social equality, will be difficult to overcome.

In that point of view, CGIAR's over 50-year vision has always been to build a world where the food, land, and water systems are flexible and sustainable, contributing to a diverse, healthy, safe, and sufficient diet.

CGIAR's 15 centers around the world work together towards integrating work and partners, avoiding fragmentation and duplication of efforts. The most common goal is to maintain CGIAR's global presence, along with encouraging cooperation between different ministries, departments, and sectors at the national level; between countries, and between organizations. All this is to help stakeholders both solve challenges and meet sustainable development goals.

In Vietnam, CGIAR centers include Bioversity and CIAT Alliance, the International Potato Center (CIP), the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Always requiring more efforts and initiative from all parties, CGIAR understands that there is no single solution suitable for solving all challenges. Each solution must be based on the geographical, economic, and social context and needs to be adjusted to suit the culture, customs, and farming habits of the people. That is why CGIAR has worked with regional and national stakeholders, including agricultural research and innovation systems, to determine the exact path to transform the food systems on a case-by-case basis.

Having worked in the agricultural sector, both in the public and private sectors, for the past 25 years, the CGIAR Director has a lot of experience in leading agricultural policy, value chains, markets, and research. Dr. Juan Lucas, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia, believes that the conference in Vietnam is the right time for all countries to join hands and initiate the food system transformation process at a global level.

“CGIAR has been looking forward to the 4th Conference and has been supporting the event organization since the very beginning. We believe this is an important foundation to prepare for the UNFSS review that will take place on July 24-26," said Dr. Juan Lucas.