Transforming food and agriculture through a systems approach

The key premise of this report is that a systems approach is essential for transforming agrifood systems. Businessas-usual is not solving interconnected problems like food insecurity, malnutrition and environmental harm. Working in a more connected way offers the pathway forward to achieving better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, while leaving no one behind.

The purpose of Transforming food and agriculture through a systems approach is to clarify what a systems approach involves in practice across agrifood systems. It explains what a systems approach means in the context of agrifood systems, why it matters and how to adopt it. It advances the operationalization of a systems approach by outlining the key shifts needed to embed systems thinking into policies, programmes, projects, and interventions and illustrating how countries, regions and municipalities are putting these shifts into practice. The publication supports ongoing efforts being taken by policymakers and practitioners to advance progress towards multiple agrifood systems policy objectives, tackle complex challenges and address fragmentation and incoherence.