FAO, IFAD to lead US$230M agrifood systems transformation

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has tasked the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to lead its new US$230 million agrifood systems transformation programme.
This decision was made at the 63rd Council Meeting of the GEF, which is being held in Washington, DC, United States, from November 28 to December 2, 2022.
The GEF’s Food Systems Integrated Programme will direct an estimated $230 million, which will be complemented by additional co-financing, in project grants to support countries to transform their agrifood systems to be more sustainable and delivering global environmental benefits in conserving biodiversity, combating land degradation, mitigating and adapting to climate change and contributing to national food security.
Agrifood systems encompass farming, harvesting, fishing, livestock-rearing, storing, processing, transporting, selling, buying, eating, and disposing of our food. Agrifood systems also include non-food resources that come from agriculture, like cotton and forest products. While agrifood systems are the source of nutrition and livelihoods, they are also one of the major causes of environmental degradation.
Agricultural sectors, including forestry and other land use sectors, are the biggest drivers of global biodiversity loss. Unsustainable agrifood systems globally degrade one-third of agricultural land, contribute an estimated 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, and consume 70 per cent of groundwater withdrawals.
“As populations grow and diets improve, we must transform our agrifood systems to supply more people with healthier and nutritious food while conserving and restoring our ecosystems and natural resources,” says FAO Director General, QU Dongyu.
He added, “As we co-lead GEF’s Food Systems Integrated Programme, we will continue to work closely with members to ensure an impactful catalysing transformation of national and global agrifood systems. The recently-held COP27, and preparations for CBD COP15, clearly indicate there is no time to waste – we must put agrifood systems’ transformation at the centre of solutions for biodiversity loss, food insecurity and climate crises.”
The Food Systems Integrated Programme is the second largest programme approved in the GEF’s programming directions for 2022-2026, known as GEF-8. The programme aims to catalyse national and global shifts towards sustainable nature-positive production systems by supporting efficient, sustainable and resilient value chains for crops, forest products, commodities, livestock, and aquaculture.
FAO and IFAD aim to align the programme with the outcomes of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and collaborate with partners, such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Nature Conservancy, and the Regional Development Banks to deliver greater results.
IFAD President Alvaro Lario said, “Transforming the way we produce, distribute and consume food so that our actions are truly inclusive and sustainable requires a paradigm shift. We need to work in partnership, assemble and leverage finance and investments, and strengthen policies, knowledge, and capacities.”
“The GEF Integrated Programme on Food Systems will support countries to define their national pathways and prioritise interventions that have proven to deliver measurable benefits for the climate, the environment, and the people,” Lario added.
FAO and IFAD are implementing agencies of the GEF, a partnership of 18 agencies and 183 countries, which addresses the world’s most challenging environmental issues related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, chemicals, and international waters. GEF provides grants to countries to meet these challenges whilst contributing to key development goals, such as food security.
Guyana has been benefitting from GEF programmes over almost a decade now.
In fact, only last December, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Seventh Operational Phase of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) in Guyana.
The Seventh Operational Phase (OP7) of the SGP aims to “promote and support innovative, inclusive and scalable initiatives, and foster multi-stakeholder partnerships at the local level to tackle global environmental issues in priority landscapes and seascapes”.
The GEF SGP complements the work of the Guyana Government by creating a funding platform that contributes positively to key developmental goals. This is accomplished through the direct engagement of grassroots organisations and local communities in decision-making for the creation of sustainable environmental solutions that enhance their well-being and livelihoods.
The GEF SGP has been active in Guyana since 2013 and invested more than US$941,000 in 24 projects with more than US$925,000 in cash and in-kind co-financing. The projects’ geographic coverage includes seven of the 10 administrative regions – particularly Regions One to Six and Nine. Under OP7, a total of US$500,000 has been earmarked for SGP Guyana to implement environmental-based projects.