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Report on the

Expert Group Meeting on Progress in Achieving SDG 2 in

Preparation for the High Level Political Forum

12-13 June 2017

United Nations Headquarters, New York

ANNEXES

Contents ANNEX I ......................................................................................................................................................................2

ANNEX II .....................................................................................................................................................................5

ANNEX III ....................................................................................................................................................................7

ANNEX IV ................................................................................................................................................................. 21

ANNEX V .................................................................................................................................................................. 24

ANNEX I

PROGRAMME

DAY ONE: Monday 12 June (Conference Room 12)

9:30-9:50 Welcome and opening remarks

Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office to the UN (Chair)

H.E. Marie Chatardova, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, Vice President of ECOSOC

Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA)

10:00-11:00 SDG 2.1: End hunger

Moderator: Brave Ndisale, Strategic Programme Leader, Food Security and Nutrition, FAO

Leulseged Abebe, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the United Nations

Jaime Andres Gnecco, Counselor, Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations

Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla, Head of IFPRI’s Latin America and Caribbean Program LAC Programme, IFPRI

11:00-12:00 SDG 2.2: End all forms of malnutrition

Moderator: Francesco Branca, Director of Nutrition for Health and Development, WHO

Maria Angela Ponce, Minister, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations

Muhammad Aslam Shaheen, Chief Nutrition/SUN Focal Point, Ministry of Planning Development and Reform, Pakistan

Elizabeth Buckingham, Nutrition and Gender Advisor, Office of Global Food Security, United States Department of State

Bonnie McClafferty, Head of Food Systems and Nutrition, GAIN 12:00-13:00 SDG 2.3: Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food

producers Moderator: Torben Nilsson, Senior Global Engagement Specialist, IFAD

Rolando Castro Córdoba, Deputy Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations

Lin Zhanxi, Chief Scientist of National Engineering Research Centre of Juncao Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China

Esther Penunia, Secretary General, Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development

13:00-15:00 Lunch Break 15:00 – 16:00 SDG 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems

Moderator: Clayton Campanhola, Strategic Programme Leader, Sustainable Agriculture, FAO

Mohamed Ait Kadi, Président, Conseil Général du Développement Agricole, Morocco

Patrick Caron, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Chairperson of the High-level Panel of Experts, CFS

Joan Carling, Advisor on SDGs, Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education- Tebtebba Foundation

16:00-17:00 SDG 2.5: Maintain genetic diversity

Moderator: Gina Kennedy, Senior Scientist, Bioversity International

Judith Arrieta, Minister of the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations

Delmah Ndhlovu, Secretary General, Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers' Forum

Barbara Gemmill-Herren, Ecologist, Kilimo Katika Capay 17:00 -18:00

Reflections and Wrap Up: Implications of Day 1 dialogues for Day 2

Moderators: Zak Bleicher, Head of New York Office, IFAD, and Brian Bogart, Senior Liaison Officer, WFP

Heleña Yanez Loza, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the United Nations

Easton Williams, Director, Social Policy, Planning and Research Division, Jamaica

Charlotte Hebebrand, Director-General, International Fertilizers Association (IFA)

Naseegh Jaffer, Secretary-General, World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers

Kwesi Atta-Krah, Chair, Systems and Site Integration, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

DAY TWO: Tuesday 13 June (Parallel Discussions)

10:00-13:00 Conference Room B: Means of Implementation: investment, trade, markets and finance

Moderator: Robert Townsend, Adviser, World Bank

Isabel Cavelier, Senior Advisor, Mission 20/20

Natasha Hayward, Deputy Program Manager, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP)

Carlos Mermot, Programa Regional FIDA, Mercosur

Fran McCrae, Policy Manager, International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Conference Room C: SDG 2 Interlinkages with other SDGs

Moderator: Shantanu Mukherjee, Chief, Policy and Analysis Branch, Division

for Sustainable Development, UN-DESA

François Gave, Counselor, Head of the Development Unit, Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations

Ratana Chuenpagdee, Canada Research Chair in Natural Resource Sustainability and Community Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Chhaya Bhavsar, Coordinator, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India

Ivonne Lobos, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam

Christine Brautigam, Director, Intergovernmental Support Division, UN-Women

13:00-15:00 Lunch Break 15:00-18:00 Conference Room B: Means of Implementation: STI, capacity building, systemic

issues

Moderator: Lucinda Longcroft, Head of New York Office, WIPO Willem Olthof, Chair, CFS Open-ended Working Group on SDGs, and First

Counselor, EU Delegation in Rome

Luc Gnacadja, LoCAL Programme Board of the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) of the UNCDF

Gleyse Peiter, Executive Secretariat, Rede Nacional de Mobilização Social, Brasil

Lin Zhanxi, Chief Scientist of National Engineering Research Centre of Juncao Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China

John Cordaro, Consultant, Global Business Advisor, MARS

Stefano Prato, Managing Director, Society for International Development (SID)

Conference Room C: Countries in special situations and protracted crisis

Moderator: Chris Toe, Senior Policy and Programme Advisor, WFP

H.E. Amira Gornass, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sudan to FAO, Chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

Ashraf El Nour, Director of the New York Office of the International Organization for Migration, IOM

Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary, General Economics Division, Planning Commission, Bangladesh

Hope Sadza, Vice Chancellor, Women’s University of Africa, Zimbabwe

Vili Caniogo, Team Leader, Pacific Agriculture Policy Project, Pacific Community, Fiji

Seema Ghani, Zero Hunger Strategic Review Project, Afghanistan 18:30-19:30 Closing Plenary (Conference Room 6)

Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office to the UN Juwang Zhu, Director, Division for Sustainable Development, DESA

ANNEX II

CONCEPT NOTE

Introduction The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), is organizing an expert group meeting (EGM) on progress in achieving SDG 2, from 12 to 13 June 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York. The EGM is being convened in preparation for the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which will take place from 10 to 19 July 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York under the theme of “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”. Background The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 2 calls for us to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. It commits Governments and others to ensure universal access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food at all times of the year. Achieving this objective requires a holistic approach that encompasses productive support and social protection systems, as well as partnerships, multi-stakeholder participation and inclusive governance. Ensuring the food security and nutritional status of vulnerable people, including displaced and conflict-affected populations, will require commitment by Governments and other stakeholders to “leave no one behind and reach those furthest behind first”. Ensuring food security and nutrition also requires that food systems and agricultural practices become more sustainable, resilient and inclusive; ensuring that all have equal access to land and water, markets, technology adapted to local contexts, and social protection. Responsible public and private investments in infrastructure and technology to boost agricultural productivity and capacity building are also needed. Investment in integrated food access and agriculture development must be accompanied by coordinated action at both national and subnational levels, across ministries and departments as well as across rural and urban jurisdictions.

Linking sustainable agriculture to poverty eradication is crucial to ensuring food security and enhancing the livelihoods of rural poor people—who are highly concentrated in degraded and natural resource-poor environments—and restoring, safeguarding, developing and promoting sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources. Nearly 80 percent of the world’s population suffering from extreme poverty lives in rural areas, and most are food insecure. Promoting and supporting sustainable agriculture helps to overcome poverty and food insecurity, promotes sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers, and can serve as a driver for the achievement of all SDGs. Agricultural growth, however, will not rapidly reduce poverty on its own. To sustainably increase the productive capacity of agriculture, and double the agricultural productivity and the incomes of small-scale food producers, more “pro-poor”, responsible investment is needed from both public and private sources, as well as from both domestic and foreign sources, responding to the needs of family

farmers and poor rural populations, including productive support and social protection components of an integrated farm and food policy that builds on local knowledge and practices.

The recognition of the environment and ecosystems as “stakeholders” in our economic system is an underlying principle of sustainable food systems, as is the need to recognize the large and important contributions of ecosystem services. The primary stewards of ecosystem functions, including healthy soil and clean water that maintain arable lands worldwide, are family farmers and small-scale food producers, including forest managers, fisherfolk and pastoralists, a majority of whom are women. Promoting effective, sustainable agricultural practices is increasingly urgent given the need to adapt to climate change, which can exacerbate conditions for poor people and have devastating effects on national efforts to ensure food security. Achieving SDG 2 in countries in special situations (LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS) and in protracted crisis presents specific challenges that need to be addressed, related to insufficient or degraded natural resources, logistics hurdles to ensure access to food, and conflict. The scale and complexity of the food security crises caused by conflict and natural disasters have increased dramatically in recent years and represent a significant threat to sustainable development. A range of underlying causes must be addressed to reduce the risk for food security crises. Objectives, structure and topics The Expert Group Meeting will bring together a diverse group of experts and stakeholders in an interactive dialogue to assess progress achieved in reaching the targets of SDG 2, identify challenges at the national and international levels, and produce key political messages and policy recommendations in advance of the HLPF. The experiences of Member States will be featured throughout the meeting, providing a basis for reviewing national progress against SDG 2 targets. To achieve these objectives, the workshop will have a duration of two days. Day one of the workshop will be comprised of a day of plenary presentations and discussions on SDG targets 2.1 to 2.5 looking at progress towards the target, the major challenges, and the way forward. Day two of the workshop will consist of parallel discussions on means of implementation including partnerships, interlinkages, and countries in special situations and protracted crisis. Participation Experts from Governments, the United Nations system and other international organizations, the scientific community, civil society, the private sector, academia and farmer representatives, from both developed and developing countries will be invited to participate in the meeting. Expected Outcome The meeting’s conclusions will be summarized in an outcome document that will inform the 2017 HLPF on progress in implementing SDG 2, including key political messages and policy guidance for countries on what is needed to accelerate the implementation of SDG 2 and achieve its targets. Briefing A briefing to present the outcome of the expert group meeting will be held on Wednesday 14 June from 1:15 to 2:45pm in Conference Room 2. All interested member States, stakeholders and UN system representatives are invited to attend.

ANNEX III

BACKGROUND NOTES FOR DISCUSSION SESSIONS

DAY ONE

End hunger (SDG 2.1) 12 June 10:00-11:00, UN Conference Room 12

SDG 2.1 by 2030 end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round The proportion of undernourished (hungry) people in the world, as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment (POU) indicator, declined from 15 per cent in 2000-2002 to 11 per cent in 2014-2016, but more than 790 million people worldwide still suffer from hunger. Another measure, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) provides estimates about the adequacy of people´s access to food. The FIES snapshot in 2015 shows that 1 in 5 people in the world is experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity. Food insecurity rates appear to be slightly higher among women than men. People in conflict affected states are up to three times more likely to be undernourished than those who are living in more stable developing countries. Harmful effects of climate change as well as persistent political instability and conflict result in increased food insecurity and malnutrition. Africa suffers from the highest levels of food insecurity, with close to half the population experiencing moderate or severe levels of food insecurity and more than one in five reporting experiences that indicate a condition of severe food insecurity. Without dedicated efforts to improve access to food, including through inclusive governance and shock-responsive social protection systems, climate and conflict risks could undermine global progress in achieving SDG 2. Severe food insecurity and malnutrition due to different combinations of environmental stressors, conflict, displacement, and competition over scarce natural resources has affected and will continue to affect many millions of people around the world. The persistent nature of these drivers of intensified food insecurity, and their associated impacts, weakens households’ capacity to cope and undermines their resilience. This constitutes today a major humanitarian challenge. At the core of SDG 2.1 are collective efforts to end hunger and ensure food security and access for all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. Research demonstrates that hunger can be ended rapidly with a combination of increases in support to small-scale food producers, who are themselves among the most food insecure and vulnerable to crisis, and social protection programmes designed to overcome food access bottlenecks. Supporting countries in strengthening their shock-responsive social protection systems and disaster risk reduction, prevention, preparedness and response capacities in the face of crisis will be of crucial importance, along with a focus on recovering and improving local production among the crisis-stricken and crisis-prone populations.

Building resilience to crisis-related risks and reducing vulnerability must be viewed as both a humanitarian imperative for saving lives more effectively and a development necessity in ensuring progress towards achieving the SDGs. Effective collective action to end hunger should support country-led efforts, and must be built on a common understanding of the contexts of hunger in a country and agreement on priority actions to address these contexts. Local contexts provide the parameters for national needs and priorities and for strategic engagement and partnerships in the country. A lack of dedicated efforts to improve access to food, including through inclusive food security governance, could undermine global progress in achieving SDG 2. Multi-stakeholder partnerships, in particular to strengthen national food systems, are required to achieve SDG 2.1. Enhanced governance and multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms should include inter-sectoral dialogue and support institutional development that encourages stakeholders to work together to develop common solutions towards shared objectives. Discussion Points

While the percentage of people suffering from hunger is declining, the absolute number—nearly 800 million people—is unacceptably high. What are the required game-changer actions?

How can efforts be urgently accelerated to end hunger and malnutrition together (achieve SDG 2.1 and 2.2) by 2030?

How are the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including displaced and conflicted-affected populations being prioritized so that they are not left behind?

SDG1 and SDG 2 are intrinsically linked: over 70 per cent of the world’s extreme poor live in rural areas and nearly two thirds rely on agriculture as their main source of living, struggle to access productive resources, and are highly vulnerable to climate and other shocks. How can we better integrate policies and actions to address both poverty and hunger (SDG1 and SDG 2)?

With increasing frequency, millions of women and men have been placed in conditions of severe food insecurity by different combinations of environmental stressors, competition over scarce natural resources, conflict, and displacement. In April 2017, the international community confronts major humanitarian challenges that require urgent attention. What can be done to respond to these current crises in ways that reduce the risk of future food security crises, including the prevention of famine?

Format One hour of moderated discussion among all participants, with two selected speakers kick-starting the discussion (5 minutes each).

Ending malnutrition (SDG 2.2)

12 June 11:00-12:00, UN Conference Room 12 SDG 2.2 by 2030 end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons Malnutrition today directly affects one in three people globally. Worldwide, about 795 million people still go hungry to bed, approximately 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies and nearly 2 billion people are overweight or obese. Approximately 156 million children under 5 are stunted, 50 million are too wasted, and 42 million are overweight, leading to lifelong negative consequences. Poor diets and malnutrition are the biggest risk factors for the global burden of disease – every country in the world faces serious public health challenges from malnutrition. The double burden of undernutrition and overweight/obesity now affects 57 countries. In terms of economic consequences, the annual GDP losses from low weight, poor child growth and micronutrient deficiencies average 11 percent in Asia and Africa. Globally, malnutrition, as a result of lost productivity and direct health care costs, could account for as much as 5 percent of global GDP, equivalent to US$3.5 trillion per year.

Despite marked progress in the fight against malnutrition in recent years, the decline in the prevalence estimates is not fast enough For instance, at the current rates of decline, anemia targets will be reached in 2130 rather than 2030. Prevention of malnutrition has strong returns on investment – it delivers $16 in returns on investment for every $1 spent. Therefore the scale and quality of implementation of policies and programs must be escalated and be equitably achieved across regions, countries, communities and individuals at-risk. It is with this in mind that, in 2016, the General Assembly declared 2016-2025 the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. The Nutrition Decade provides an opportunity for all partners to work together, mobilise action and accelerate efforts towards the elimination of all forms of malnutrition and meeting the SDGs by 2030. The primary objective of the Nutrition Decade is to increase nutrition investments and implement policies and programmes to improve nutrition within the framework of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2). Mechanisms to coordinate actions across sectors are key to successful implementation. Improved coordination and greater investments in nutrition are required from various sectors – health, agriculture, education, food systems, social protection, water, sanitation and hygiene – if malnutrition is to be ended. Policies and programs that provide direct support to high burden and at risk populations need to be combined with programs in other sectors, to address the underlying determinants of malnutrition, such as lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, in order to help countries achieve progress in multiple SDG goals and targets. The provision of healthy food together with good health services, optimal caring practices and water, sanitation and hygiene are essential for achieving optimal growth and development in young children. Food systems, in particular, can and should meet most people’s nutritional needs, but are increasingly challenged to ensure that all people have access to the diverse foods that contribute to healthy diets and can make informed decisions. Improving food systems to impact positively on nutrition will require innovative ways

to improve food value chains but will need to understand and address the broader food environments that influence consumer behavior to prevent both undernutrition and overweight or obesity. The public and private sector, as well as civil society, have major roles to play in ending of malnutrition. Their collective action should support country-led efforts building on the specific problems and context in a country. Sustainable progress also requires engagement and leadership within communities and significant changes in individual behaviors and practices. Greater engagement in use of technology and social media to measure malnutrition, to expand knowledge and change behaviors related to malnutrition may trigger rapid progress in some contexts.

Discussion Points

While wasting and stunting are declining steadily in some countries, the problem is declining more slowly, stagnating or even increasing in others. What is needed to accelerate the decline in undernutrition and particularly the inequity in progress?

Simultaneously the number of people affected by overweight and obesity is increasing rapidly. How can countries effectively and efficiently reduce undernutrition and overweight and obesity simultaneously through promotion of healthy diets and healthy lifestyles?

Nutrition is central to the SDGs – it is essential for progress in health, education, employment, gender equity and poverty reduction. At the same time, nutrition outcomes are impacted by policies and programs in agriculture, education, social protection, climate change and food systems. How can collaboration or integrated action become a common way of working to end malnutrition?

How are countries addressing the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons?


Doubling smallholder agricultural productivity and incomes (SDG 2.3) 12 June 12:00-13:00, UN Conference Room 12

SDG 2.3 by 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment. Small-scale food producers contribute significantly to global food security and nutrition, producing the majority of the food in developing regions – up to 80 per cent and more in many African and Asian countries. They are also responsible for maintaining 85 per cent of the world’s biodiversity for food, and are major contributors to environmental services. Despite all this, smallholder farmers, fishers and pastoralists remain disproportionately represented among the numbers living in hunger and poverty: an estimated 63 per cent of the poor work in agriculture in developing countries, the overwhelming majority on smallholder farms.

This situation is particularly unacceptable, considering the demonstrable contribution smallholders can make to promoting food security and nutrition and galvanizing wider inclusive development processes. Increased incomes and productivity of smallholder farmers not only has direct impact on improved food and nutritional security of the poor, but also has the potential of generating demand for upstream and downstream services. As producers invest in their farms, the demand for inputs, machinery, packaging, storage, transport, and of on non-food goods increases, which is vital to kick-start a vibrant rural non-farm sector. This is why significant increases in productivity and incomes among smallholders has been observed to be a key component (particularly in the early stages) of many country-level processes of structural transformation and associated large-scale reductions in hunger and poverty—as observed in many of today's quickly transforming countries as well as in historical experiences from East Asian, Latin American and Europe. As such, the imperative of providing incentives for smallholders by linking them to fair, transparent and remunerative markets as well as appropriate government interventions enabling them to access productivity enhancing resources (including land, water, energy), inputs, training, capital and financial services emerge as key. So too does the need to reduce the gender gap in agricultural productivity, access to productive resources, and farm/off farm job opportunities. Yield gaps between men and women farmers due to gender unequal access to productive resources approximately 20-30 per cent; women tend to have less access to full time, high-paid jobs in and off farms. Closing this gap could lead to an increase of 2.5 to 4 per cent of agricultural production in developing countries, theoretically sufficient to reduce global hunger levels by 12-17 per cent, and would have direct impact on health, education and nutritional outcomes of rural communities Strengthening smallholder tenure rights, enabling youth and women to access productive land, fisheries and forests, and reducing risks by greater focus on resilience building will also be imperative. Discussion points

What policy approaches and measures are being taken to ensure that smallholders are in a position to benefit from the expanding market opportunities emerging from higher incomes and urbanization?

What targeted investments and policies are being put in place to ensure smallholders have access to the resources and capacity development opportunities they will need to take advantage of opportunities?

What policies are needed to create attractive opportunities for youth to engage in productive and profitable farming?

What are some of the best practices in empowering women farmers and what more needs to be done to remove the gender inequalities that constrain smallholder productivity and profitability?


Ensure sustainable food production systems (SDG 2.4)

12 June 15:00-16:00, UN Conference Room 12 SDG 2.4 by 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. Linking sustainable agriculture and food production systems to poverty eradication is crucial to ensuring food security and enhancing the livelihoods of rural poor—who are highly concentrated in degraded and natural resource-poor environments—and restoring, safeguarding and developing natural capital. Given that nearly 80 percent of the world’s population suffering from extreme poverty and food insecurity live in rural areas, promoting and supporting sustainable agriculture helps to overcome poverty and food insecurity, promotes sustainable livelihoods for small holder farmers, and can serve as a driver for the achievement of all SDGs. Promoting effective, sustainable agricultural practices is increasingly urgent given the level of degradation of natural resources in many places, its impact on the poor and vulnerable, and the need to adapt to climate change, which can exacerbate poor conditions and have devastating effects on national efforts to ensure food security. The recognition of the environment and ecosystems as “stakeholders” in our economic system is an underlying principle of a green economy, as is the need to develop knowledge-based agriculture that explicitly recognizes the contributions of ecosystem services. Better policies and more investment are needed from both public and private sources, as well as from both domestic and foreign sources to address this challenge. This session will explore the relationship between sustainable agriculture, efficient and inclusive food production systems, food security and poverty reduction and identify critical policy areas for action to operate the transition towards more sustainable agriculture and food systems. Special attention will be given to the effect of climate change and resilient agricultural practices. It will seek to raise awareness of the central role that sustainable agriculture can play to stimulate economic growth and combat poverty by showcasing good practices in sustainable agriculture, facilitating the exchange of experiences, and generating new initiatives and partnerships for technology transfer, knowledge sharing and capacity building. The discussion will focus on agricultural development under conditions of limited natural resources (including water and land) and climate change, and will consider the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental (the first two are also discussed in the session on SDG 2.2). Consideration will be given to the development of policies, financial mechanisms and bio-physical management systems aiming to sustainably increase production, and address environmental degradation and climate change. Incentives to apply agricultural practices that maintain healthy ecosystems will also be at the center of discussions. Discussion points

What is being done to ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather events and natural disasters and that improve land and soil quality?

How do we address trade-offs across sustainability dimensions and enhanced policy coherence?

How do we prioritize the needs of the poor and most vulnerable?

What is the role of partnership in achieving this target?

What are the linkages between this target and other SDG targets (SDG 2 and others)?

What is the role of the means of implementation such as science-policy interface, research, technologies and investments in achieving this target?


Maintain genetic diversity (SDG 2.5) 12 June 16:00-17:00, UN Conference Room 12

SDG 2.5 by 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed Biodiversity for food and agriculture is among the earth’s most important resources. Crops, livestock, aquatic organisms, forest trees, micro-organisms and invertebrates—thousands of species and their genetic variability—make up the web of biodiversity upon which the world’s food production depends. Genetic resources are the raw materials that local communities and researchers rely upon to improve the quality and output of food production. When these resources are eroded, humankind loses potential means of adapting agriculture to new socio-economic and environmental conditions. It is because of their genetic variability that plants, animals, micro-organisms and invertebrates are able to adapt and survive when their environments change. Maintaining and using a wide range of diversity—both diversity among species and genetic diversity within species—therefore means maintaining capacity to respond to future challenges. For example, plants and animals that are genetically tolerant of high temperatures or droughts, or resistant to pests and diseases, are of great importance in climate change adaptation. As countries seek to diversify and adapt their agricultural and food-production systems, the exchange of genetic resources and the interdependence of countries increases. This session will explore the sustainable management of biodiversity and genetic resources for food and agriculture as a global responsibility reflected in the SDGs. It will seek to foster the use and development of the whole portfolio of biodiversity important to food security and rural poverty alleviation. Consideration will be given to the factors influencing GRFA, including climate change, valuation of ecosystem services, equitable access and benefit sharing, data collection and sustainable use and conservation. The challenge of conserving and sustainably using genetic resources extends across all continents and ecosystems and demands a broad-based response, which will be at the centre of the discussion. Discussion points

How best can traditional knowledge on the management of GRFA be captured with the full participation of indigenous people and local communities of farmers, livestock keepers, fisherfolk and forest dwellers?

How will the effects of climate change impact GRFA, and what priority activities are most needed? How will robust management and conservation of GRFA help build agricultural resilience to climate change?

What actions can be taken to ensure sustainable use of RFGA, maintaining genetic diversity, preventing a too narrow focus on the development and use of only a few commercial crop varieties and breeds of livestock? How can we encourage diversification?

What political and financial support is available/needed to encourage in-situ and on-farm conservation of GRFA?

How do we value the regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services provided by locally adapted plants/animals that are less competitive on the market (provisioning services) as compared to high-performance selected plants/animals raised with high external input?

How can farmers, livestock keepers etc. that developed the GRFA over millennia partake a) in modern breeding and b) benefit when their material is used, ensuring access and benefit sharing?

How can more countries be encouraged to collect data, prepare country reports for global assessment? How can they be encouraged to report on the SDG 2.5 indicators through FAO’s specialized databases? What hinders them?

Considering that 2020 is only three years away, how can we accelerate delivery of this target? Format One hour of moderated discussion among all participants, with two selected speakers kick-starting the discussion (5 minutes each). DAY TWO

Interlinkages with other SDGs

13 June 10:00-13:00, Conference Room C The 17 goals, 169 targets and over 230 indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents governments and all stakeholders with an immensely rich and flexible framework for action. From the beginning of debate, throughout negotiations of the SDGs up to and after launch of the 2030 Agenda, the challenge of how countries will integrate the SDGs has been approached through innovative approaches and capture of synergies among related SDGs. SDG 2 calls for integration not only within its five targets and means of implementation, but with all 16 SDGs. Even before negotiations on SDGs concluded, some countries were proposing innovative approaches to integrating SDGs across ministries and agencies in a “whole of government” approach to implementing the 2030 Agenda. As an “entry-point” to integration, SDG 2 provides opportunities different from other SDGs. This session will explore these opportunities for integration. In 2017, nearly two years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, there are holistic approaches being taken to implement a sustainable, inclusive and resilient transformation towards hunger-free, nutritious and prosperous food and agricultural systems. As the HLPF background note for SDG 2 observes, countries are

following diverse pathways to “domesticate” the SDGs. The strong interlinkages among goals and targets presents numerous challenges, which many governments are addressing through the establishment of national platforms for developing more integrated programmes and policies. This expert panel discussion will provide selected examples of countries that have worked to link SDG 2 to the other SDGs under review in the 2017 HLPF and between SDG 2 and the other SDGs under review in 2018 and 2019. In addition to country level approaches to integrating the SDGs, there will be examination of the field and landscape level of integration. Interactive dialogue will explore managing complexity of different kinds and levels, with SDG 2 and food systems as a driver for SDG integration as a whole. Linkages among the SDGs under review in 2017 The interlinkages between SDG 1 to end poverty and SDG 2 to end hunger have received more attention than other interlinkages because the inextricable linkages of poverty and hunger are so well established. The eradication of poverty is essential for ending hunger. Transformation of the food system is needed to generate prosperity for small-scale farmers, providing access to food and ending rural poverty. What is less well addressed is the need for investment in urban-rural linkages to supply urban markets with nutritious and affordable food while expanding economic opportunity for both urban and rural communities. SDG 2 links to health (SDG 3) are critical, to connect food systems with sustainable diets and healthy foods. The health of the environment is also impacted by the ecological impact of food and farming practices. SDG 2 links to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls (SDG 5) should be at the center of effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as women produce 50 per cent of the world’s food and have severe lack of access to resources such as land, credit and information. Infrastructure (SDG 9) such as transportation, distribution and processing is vital to ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture, especially in order to create more resilience through diversification in all regions Oceans (SDG 14) provide 20 per cent of protein to people globally and are critical to the world’s sustainable food supply. Linkages among SDGs beyond the 2017 HLPF The reality that SDG 2 is related to the other SDGs will be brought home not only in 2017, but also again in 2018 and 2019 when ten other SDGs come under review. SDGs for education, water, energy, decent work, reducing inequality, sustainable cities, sustainable consumption and production, climate change, forests, land biodiversity, and peace all have vital linkages to SDG 2. The means of implementation for sustainable development (SDG 17), included as cross-cutting each year, is an important way to realize integration of the SDGs on an ongoing basis. Managing the complexity of the integrated 2030 Agenda, however governments and other stakeholders choose to integrate the SDGs, will require innovative approaches. Working across ministries and sectors to account for trade-offs and find synergies has just begun, and there are many lessons to share and to learn from. A focused effort to address the thematic and cross-cutting interlinkages is required to implement SDG 2. Ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture will require social protection and food systems that are economically efficient, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. Country-level experiences will be extremely valuable in examining how the targets and indicators of SDG 2 are linked across the other SDGs under review this year, as well as in the coming years.

Discussion points

What methods and approaches to link SDG 2 to other SDGs at a national level appear to have promise for lasting effect and present lessons that could apply to other countries?

What institutional mechanisms or arrangements that combine ministries, programmes, sectors, or stakeholders to integrate SDG 2 with other SDGs appear to be most promising?

How are countries answering the human and financial resource needs to mount a truly integrated approach to SDG 2 and other SDGs?

Format This session will include 4 to 5 expert panel presentations (10 minutes each) followed by a moderated discussion among all participants.

Implementing SDG 2 in countries in special situations 13 June 15:00-18:00, UN Conference Room C

The 2030 Agenda states that “the most vulnerable countries and, in particular, African countries, LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS deserve special attention, as do countries in situations of conflict and post-conflict countries. There are also serious challenges within many middle-income countries.” It supports the implementation of existing strategies and programmes of action in these countries, including the Istanbul Declaration and Programme of Action, the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014-2024, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the programme of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). SDG 2 is of particular importance to countries in special situations, and its targets seek to end hunger and malnutrition in a way that leaves no one behind, strengthens capacity for food security and sustainable agriculture and builds resilience. SDG target 2.a specifically highlights the needs of LDCs, in calling on the international community to “increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development, and plant and livestock gene banks to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular in least developed countries”. Agriculture plays a crucial role in almost all LDCs. The agriculture sector employs the largest share of the population in most LDCs, and is directly linked to poverty eradication, rural development and food security, as well as to exports, commodity and production diversification and agro-processing capacity. It is only through access to safe and nutritious food that those living in poverty and most at risk of chronic malnutrition, in particular women, children and the elderly, can improve their health and nutrition status. The prevalence of undernourishment in LLDCs is estimated to be 76 percent higher than the average of developing countries. LLDCs are exposed to higher and more volatile food prices, and rely heavily on a limited number of mineral resources and agricultural products for their exports. Cooperation between the LLDCs and transit countries is essential for the transport and trade-related issues relevant to achieving SDG 2, and regional cooperation plays an important role.

SIDS face unique and particular vulnerabilities, including their remoteness and the small-scale of their economic activities, their disproportionate reliance on food imports, and their fragile natural resource environments, that together are resulting in a growing food security and nutrition crisis. This crisis is evidenced by persistently high levels of undernutrition coexisting with a rapidly increasing incidence of overweight and obesity and associated impacts of non-communicable diseases. People in conflict affected states are up to three times more likely to be undernourished than those who are living in more stable developing countries. Around 93 per cent of people living in extreme poverty are living in countries deemed as fragile, environmentally vulnerable, or both. However, twenty million people in four countries—Northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen—are at an elevated risk of famine, and a further 10 million are in crisis. Famine has already been declared in two counties in South Sudan affecting 100,000 people, with another one million on the brink. We are also witnessing the highest number of forcibly displaced people on record as a result of conflict and persecution. According to UNHCR, an unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world have been forced from their homes. A recent WFP publication determined that international migration correlates with the duration of conflict and rates of food insecurity. Conflict and protracted crises call for specially designed and targeted assistance that addresses the immediate need to alleviate suffering, and boosts resilience and the capacity to absorb, prepare for, and prevent humanitarian disasters, crises and long-term stresses in the future. Climate risks also have disproportionate effects on the poorest and most vulnerable people who are more exposed to climate-related disasters that increase hunger by destroying land, livestock, crops and food supplies and restricting people’s access to markets. Climate change also increases health threats, posing further risks to nutrition status. Without rapid, inclusive and climate-smart development, many more people will be affected by poverty and hunger by 2030. The 2030 Agenda calls for collective responsibility to perform the adaptation and mitigation work that will help build the resilience of marginalized people living in vulnerable places. The expansion of social protection across the world has been critical for progress towards the international hunger targets. However, about 70 per cent of the world’s population still lacks access to some form of social protection. Immediate actions may include a range of interventions including emergency food assistance, payment of living wages to agricultural workers, nutrition interventions, cash transfers and other social protection instruments, access to inputs and food price policy interventions. Medium to long-term actions to build resilience and address the root causes of hunger are equally critical, including improved agricultural productivity and enhanced livelihoods, the conservation of natural resources and ensured access to productive resources; the expansion of rural infrastructure; and strengthened capacity for knowledge generation and dissemination. As a mechanism for accelerating action to halt and reverse the growing incidence of malnutrition in SIDS, the Global Action Programme on Food Security and Nutrition in SIDS, a direct follow-up to the S.A.M.O.A. Pathway will be presented at the HLPF in New York. The GAP provides a guidance document to promote more coordinated actions of governments and their development partners in meeting their commitments under the 2030 Agenda. National efforts in disaster risk reduction and climate resilience that facilitate the achievement of zero hunger, using innovative tools from climate science and finance to link early warning systems with early response

mechanisms, and implementing programmes that create productive assets, promote the production of nutritionally diverse foods, diversify livelihood strategies and rehabilitate natural resources need to be supported. National and regional efforts to advance capacity development, create infrastructure, and mobilize investment are underway, including through South-South cooperation, and public-private partnerships. In keeping with the 2030 Agenda, more collaboration is needed across institutional boundaries at the humanitarian–development and peace-building nexus. Discussion Points

How are national-level institutions shifting and adapting to implement the 2030 Agenda and harmonize it with efforts to implement other agreements?

How are governments working to address the underlying social and economic root causes of distress migration that potentially lead to conflict in developing countries?

What actions are being taken to increase resilience and address the impact of natural disasters, conflict, and displacement on food security?

What are the key challenges to building capacity for effective data collection and analysis for monitoring and follow-up of SDG 2, and how can these challenges be overcome?

Format This session will include 4 to 5 expert panel presentations (10 minutes each) followed by a moderated discussion among all participants.

Means of implementation for SDG 2 13 June, UN Conference Room B

10:00-13:00 Session I: Investment, trade, markets and finance 15:00-18:00 Session II: STI, capacity building, systemic issues The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement, incorporates a broad commitment to mobilize an expanded menu of “means of implementation” (MoI) to achieve transformative change. For SDG 2, these MoI include traditional forms of international cooperation such as official development assistance (ODA) and public financing through international financial institutions and specialized agencies and funds such as IFAD, the GAFSP, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). But the concept of MOI also embraces a host of other enablers of change: private investment and transfers; secure tenure or access to productive resources, such as land, fisheries and forests; access to local, national and international markets; science, technology and innovation (STI), including research and development and extension services; capacity development; and policy coordination and support; all of which are underpinned by the need for strengthened partnerships. The session on means of implementation for SDG 2 will be divided into two parts, although participants are encouraged to recognize and point out important and specific ways in which the two parts are interdependent.

The morning discussion will be devoted principally to the economic themes of investment, finance, trade and markets. Taking as a point of departure recognition that the most important investors in primary sectors are the producers themselves, this session will examine how various institutional actors—governments, IFIs, providers of private banking and financial services—are being mobilized to facilitate investment by post-production processors, distributors and retailers in creating improved market access opportunities for small-scale actors. Linking upstream investment to primary producers’ access to markets for differentiated products in turn provides the incentives for producers to invest in new technologies and practices. This targeted focus on smallholder access to markets will help to drive overall investment in food, agriculture and rural transformation to end hunger and malnutrition and foster a transition to sustainable, resilient agriculture and food systems. An important outcome of this session will be to survey recent developments, including new initiatives and products in the global and regional institutions responsible for promoting investment and trade, and relevant initiatives in the domain of support to rural and agricultural SME investment and finance, and to assess to degree to which these developments have the potential to promote transformative change—including by addressing systemic gaps and obstacles in the overall “ecosystem” for rural and agricultural investments at different levels. The discussion will also seek recommendations for strengthening the public investment focus on agriculture and the rural sector, using social protection and access to financial services to help the rural poor increase productivity and build assets, and linking climate finance to agricultural and rural transformation. The role of smart subsidies that support the transition towards more productive and sustainable agriculture will also be discussed. The afternoon session will look at complementary issues of means to improve productivity and incomes in a sustainable way, and to create appropriate enabling environments for concerted action, focusing again on the critical role of small scale and family farmers, fishers, foresters and pastoralists as key drivers of change for SDG 2. The panel speakers and subsequent discussion will address how public investments in rural infrastructure and services, including rural roads, irrigation, land restoration and basic services, etc. can enhance the return on private investments by farmers. Research confirms that investments in STI and R&D linked to improving agricultural productivity offers some of the highest returns for improving the productivity, incomes, and resilience of the rural poor, and for improving the resilience of national food systems to crisis, including climate-induced extreme weather events. Yet public investment in agriculture- and food-related STI is low and declining in most developing countries. A critical priority for achieving sustainable agricultural development and rural transformation under SDG 2 is the emphasis given to ensuring secure access of the poor, especially women, to land and other productive assets, and to improving access to financial services. The question of developing incentives for adoption of more sustainable practices, adapted to local needs and realities, will also be discussed. A key departure for the 2030 Agenda has been its call for expanded reliance on partnerships, in particular with the private sector, as a primary modality for mobilizing means of implementation. An important objective of the afternoon discussion will be to review practical experiences with partnerships to explore both the positive potential of this modality to support transfers of knowledge and real resources and the need for maintaining clear guidance based on established criteria, procedures, experience and review. Partnerships can serve several important purposes, in addition to mobilizing MOI. Multi-stakeholder partnerships, especially when convened by governments and giving voice to those at risk of being left behind, can help to align all stakeholders around the multiple objectives of SDG 2. UN institutions play a special role, bringing norms, standards, policy guidance (e.g.,

the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests) and shared data which provide guidance to all actors, as well as clear benchmarks for success. The special role of UN agencies as enablers of partnerships, in other words, depends critically upon their unique contributions to governance of partnerships. Discussion Points

What are the major sources and instruments of public and private financing and investment for investment in food, sustainable agriculture, and rural transformation, and what has been done to strengthen their contribution to achieving the objectives of SDG 2?

What kinds of investments are being made for what purposes, and are they sufficiently balanced and comprehensive to support a transformative systems-level agenda? Are we seeing levels of investment required to promote transformational change?

How and how well are countries and partners accessing new sources of finance under GEF and GCF to promote more inclusive, resilient and sustainable agriculture in support to food security and nutrition?

What can be and is being done to improve access of family farmers and the rural poor, especially women and people in vulnerable situations, to improved market opportunities, productive assets and services?

How can trade be used to create investment opportunities that benefit all stakeholders in food and agriculture systems?

What actions can be and are being taken to develop markets, and to improve market functioning and market access for food and agriculture producers?

Who is investing in STI, and how does this investment benefit and improve the resilience of family farmers and the rural poor?

What are the most compelling examples of “new model” SDG partnerships that mobilize real resources and other means of implementation that directly benefit family farmers, fishers, foresters and pastoralists?

What are the critical determinants of success or failure of multi-sectoral partnerships to end hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture?

What, if any, are the special responsibilities and obligations of UN agencies as facilitators and enablers of multi-sectoral partnerships?

Format The morning and afternoon sessions will each include 4 to 5 expert panel presentations (10 minutes each) followed by a moderated discussion among all participants.

ANNEX IV

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Full name Name of Organization

AbdelNabi Abdelkarim Fardous FAO

Alison Blay-Palmer WLU Centre for Sustainable Food Systems

Amira Daoud Hassan Gornass Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

Anastasia Kefalidou FAO

Armine Avagyan FAO

Ashraf El Nour International Organization for Migration

Barbara Gemmill-Herren Kilimo Katika Capay

Bonnie McClafferty Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

Brave Ndisale FAO

Brian Bogart WFP

Carla Mucavi FAO

Carlos Mermot Programa Regional FIDA MERCOSUR

Charlotte Hebebrand International Fertilizer Association (IFA)

Chhaya Bhavsar Self Employed Womens’ Association(SEWA)

Christine Brautigam UN-Women

Clayton Campanjola FAO

David Weaver Global Policy Forum

David Maciejewski FAO

Delmah Ndhlovu Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers' Forum

Eduardo Arce Diaz Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock

Elizabeth Buckingham U.S. Department of State

Elsa Tsioumani University of Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance

Esther Penunia Asian Farmers' Association for Sustainable Rural Development

Eugenia Palagi Mission of Italy to the UN

Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla International Food Policy Research Institute

Firdovsi Fikratzade Ministry of Agriculture, Azerbaijan

Fran McCrae International Co-operative Alliance

Francesco Branca World Health Organization

François Gave Permanent Mission of France to the UN

Gigi Manicad Oxfam

Gina Kennedy Bioversity International

Gleyse Peiter Rede Nacional de Mobilização Social

Heleña Yanez Loza Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the UN

Hope J Shand ETC Group

Hope Sadza Women's University In Africa

Inès Bahri Permanent Mission of France to the UN

Isabel Cavelier Mission 2020

Ivonne Lobos Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies

Jaime Gnecco Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN

Jane Battersby African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town

Joan Carling Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education - Tebtebba Foundation

Jocelyn Buckingham International Fund for Agricultural Development

John Cordaro Mars, Incorporated

Juwang Zhu UN-DESA

Judith Arrieta Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN

Judith Hitchman Urgenci International Network for Community Supported Agriculture

Kwesi Ntiamoah Atta-Krah International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Laetitia Lesieure Desbriere Permanent Mission of France to the UN

Laura Sommer Federal Office for Agriculture, Switzerland

Leni Montiel UN-DESA

Leulseged Abebe Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the UN

Lin Dongmei China Engineering Research Center of Juncao Technology

Lin Zhanxi China National Engineering Research Center of Juncao Technology

Lucas Tavares FAO

Luc Gnacadja GPS-Dev / Government & Policies for Sustainable Development

Lucinda Longcroft WIPO

Lydie-Line Paroz Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations

Maayan Keren Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN

Manuel Montes South Centre

Marcelo Costa Permanente Mission of Brazil to the UN

Maria Angela Ponce Philippine Mission to the UN

Marianna Kovacs FAO

Marie Chatardova Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN

Milgros de Hoz Food and Agriculture Cluster

Mohamed Ait-Kadi General Council of Agricultural Development

Molly Anderson Middlebury College

Ms. Ivonne Lobos Alva TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability and Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)

Muhammad Aslam Shaheen Ministry of Planning Development & Reform

Naseegh Jaffer World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP)

Natasha Hayward Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP)

Nettie Wiebe La Via Campesina

Nicholas Bian World Bank

Patrick Caron Cirad

Paulette Bethel Emerging-ag

Philip Gough Permanent Mission of Brazil to the UN

Ratana Chuenpagdee Memorial University

Rebecca Morgan The Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship

Remy Sietchiping UNHABITAT

Robert Townsend World Bank

Robynne Anderson International Agri-Food Network

Roehlano Briones Philippine Institute for Development Studies

Rolando Castro Cordoba Permanent Mission of Costa Rica

Seema Ghani Zero Hunger Strategic Review Project, Afghanistan

Shakhzod Avazov Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Tajikistan

Shamsul Alam Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh

Shirley Tarawali International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Shoba Sivasankar Emerging-ag

Stefano Prato Society for International Development (SID)

Stineke Oenema United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition

Susan H. Bragdon Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva

Thomas Forster FAO

Torben Nilsson International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Valérie Guillamo Permanent Mission of France to the UN

Valerie Nicolas Association Régions de France

Vili Caniogo Pacific Community

Violet Shivutse Shibuye Community Health Workers / Huairou Commission

Willem Olthof European Commission

Zachary Bleicher IFAD

ANNEX V

INTERVENTIONS

Opening Remarks H.E. Marie Chatardova, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, Vice President of ECOSOC

I want to welcome all of the participants to this expert group meeting and recognize the breadth of perspectives, experiences and expertise that they bring. The experts come from national governments, the Missions to the United Nations, farmer and producer organizations, civil society, social movements, academia, private sector, the UN System and other development partners.

Thank the organizers of this EGM, DESA, FAO, IFAD and WFP that have collaborated to put a truly diverse and inclusive set of stakeholders together to address such important and inter-related topics as ending hunger and malnutrition, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture.

As all of you know, the High Level Political Forum this year will address the theme of “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world".

Let me add the importance of ensuring that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development leaves no one behind.

Over 75 of the extreme poor live in rural areas, many of them are rural workers and family farmers, including women and youth. People in conflict affected states are up to three times more likely to be undernourished than those who are living in more stable developing countries and over 100 million people are currently affected by food security crises.

Conflict and protracted crises, including the four countries facing a threat of famine, call for specially designed and targeted assistance that addresses the immediate need and resilience and the capacity to absorb and prepare for crises.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This EGM is one of four EGMs, two conferences and special meetings to help prepare for the review of six of the SDGs that will be looked at in depth at the HLPF, addressing poverty, hunger, health, gender, infrastructure, oceans and the means of implementation, as well as SDG17 on partnerships.

Let me mention one specific preparatory process for the HLPF: the ECOSOC Special Meeting on SDG9 that took place in New York on 31 May. This special event had a preparatory Global Expert Meeting on “Agriculture and Agro-industries Development towards Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems”, that took place in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 24-26 April 2017. I attended the Victoria Falls meeting and want to stress the importance of transforming agro-industries to make them more inclusive, sustainable and resilient, aligning it to

the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and maximizing its potential as a way pathway to eradicate poverty and promote longer-term inclusive economic growth by integrating small-scale and family farmers into high-value value chains and promoting value-added production and creating decent jobs upstream and downstream.

As you also know, we are less than one month from the High Level Political Forum in July when all the preparatory processes from local, national, regional and levels converge here in New York for global follow up and review.

The timing of this EGM could not be better. The zero draft for the HLPF Ministerial Declaration was just published last week and the first round of consultations among Member States will take place later this week.

As the draft document recognizes, “ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting agricultural transformation are inextricably linked and major drivers for the eradication of poverty and the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda as a whole. “In the next two days I sincerely hope you can bring your depth of knowledge and experience -- your engagement with the struggles and challenges of so many who cannot bring their own depth of experience to New York – to deliver a clear set of messages for HLPF discussion of what is most important as we seek to implement these bold, complex and comprehensive goals and targets under review this and in coming years.

There are challenges for actors at all levels to navigate between starkly different approaches to address the urgent need for a sustainable, resilient and inclusive food system which meets the targets of SDG 2 -- and I am sure your deliberations here will help provide new impetus and bring attention to where new promising paths for an integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda are emerging.

In concluding, I would ask you to consider the following questions:

o Are the actions of Member States adequate to achieve the transformational objectives of SDG 2 targets and related SDGs?

o Is the international cooperation to provide means of implementation sufficient to enable achievement of the SDG 2?

o Are food system governance structures evolving as needed to facilitate the actions that in fact leave no one behind and will eradicate poverty and hunger in order to achieve prosperity for all?

Session on SDG 2.1

Ms. Susan Bragdon, Representative, Food and Sustainability, Quaker UN Office

What we measure influences how we direct our interventions; data on quantity (mentioned by our colleague from IPFRI on the panel) leads to a focus on production which is not core issue in addressing hunger. Focusing on data on caloric consumption has led to dietary simplification that underlies the 2 billion people suffering from micronutrient deficiency and 2 billion people who are obese. It is not about feeding people calories; it is about people having access to diets that nourish them (and the planet)

In terms of data, we need to focus on the impact of interventions on the agricultural diversity and the smallholder farmers who are maintaining and developing it because this is the starting point of healthy diets and a healthy planet. Interventions must support both they should not displace small holders or erode biodiversity.

It is the where, the who, the how and the what that is being grown that needs to be looked at and how we support the smallholder farmers and the maintenance and development of agrobioversity on farm and in situ. As Violet Shivutse just said, not it is not just supporting smallholders by supplying technologies in top down way – here is some great new seed and fertilizer – but respecting the knowledge and innovation that they possess.

I appreciate the calls for holistic approach by the speakers and glad to hear many of them call for smallholder farmers to be at the center. But it important to connect to agricultural biodiversity (SDG 15) if we are to treat SDGs in a holistic way. Dietary diversity critical to health and that starts with producing the diversity; adding to what Isabel said about drivers and solutions to climate change by noting diversity is also necessary to adapt to climate change and other abiotic and biotic stressors. Looking at smallholder farmers and agrobiodiversity important to SDG 3 on health by ensuring healthy diets are not simplified. I appreciated Counselor from Colombia mentioning that his country monitors the nutrition of rural population; hopefully this will be done at least in part by looking at access to diverse diets grown that come from the diversity grown by smallholder farmers.]

Session on SDG 2.2


Moderator Branca mentioned the need to understand the role of the private sector and government in ending malnutrition. It is Important to understand the private and public sector relationship; the trajectory is that the P for private gotten much bigger, the P for public sector much smaller, and this calls into question how meaningful the P for partnership can be under these circumstances.

Governments (developed) are subsidizing the production of unhealthy food, this cause food-related health problems noted by panel member Bonnie McClafferty, and incur enormous health costs paid often by the public sector (i.e., the tax payer who also paid for the subsidies) and it provides a profitable market for pharmaceutical industrial (think of dialysis alone.) Moderator spoke of value of public procurement to diverse, healthy diets. What many don’t realize that these may run afoul of emerging trade rules.

As Molly Anderson said, this is not a North South issue so great opportunity for alliance. Whether producing seeds and chemicals, trading grain, or supermarket, uniformity is an advantage right now from a private sector/profit perspective and this leads to a food system that does not work for the majority of the people on this planet. Government need to have the capacity, the legal space and the political will to promote the public interest (this is after all, the job of governments) in a food system that supports a healthy diet for all and ends malnutrition.

Session on SDG 2.4

Mr. Clayton Campanhola, Strategic Programme Leader, Sustainable Agriculture, FAO

The main objective of this SDG is not only increase food production and productivity of agriculture production systems, including crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry, but also to address the three pillars of

sustainability (social, economic and environmental) in a coherent and holistic manner. Integration and inter-linkages between the different sectors of agriculture should be considered not only from the perspective of production, but also from the standpoint of policy design and implementation.

The Green Revolution accomplished the objective of providing enough food to the world population, but on the other hand has generated many negative externalities. It has not, for instance, solved the challenge of increasing decent jobs and livelihoods for the rural poor population.

In addition, environmental externalities that have been produced show that the way we produce our food is unsustainable: 33% of land is moderately to highly degraded, a growing number of regions are facing water scarcity problem due to excessive water use in agriculture, many plant and animal species have been extinguished with serious consequences to the functioning of agricultural ecosystems, narrowing down the genetic resources used in agriculture has resulted in higher occurrence of pests and diseases, conversion of forest to agriculture has contributed to loss of biodiversity and carbon storage, and emissions of greenhouse gases from crop and livestock production continue to increase, just to name a few.

Reminding that more than 70% of the poor live in rural areas of developing countries and that 80% of the world’s food is produced by family farmers, adequate practices and policies, including strategies and investments, are needed to increase income and its stability of rural producers, improve livelihoods and market inclusion of small holder family farmers, adapt to and mitigate climate change, and promote efficient use of resources and management and recovery of degraded land and water ecosystems and biodiversity.

Therefore, it is evident the importance of the SDG 2.4 to eradicate poverty, achieve food security, improve nutrition and enhance the livelihoods of rural poor. It is also evident that SDG 2.4 has to be implemented together with the other SDGs.

Now I invite you to participate in the discussion that will start with our three.

Patrick Caron, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Chairperson of the High-level Panel of Experts, CFS

Excellencies, dear delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

Many thanks to the organisers and to you, Clayton, for this very exciting momentum for providing an opportunity to bring thoughts for food. I would like to talk for hours, but will mainly look at critical issues and at what people disagree upon to be transformative. Seven points:

1. If we made the issue of sustainable food production systems a specific target for SDG2, it is because these systems are not sustainable! Let’s not be shy to admit it! And to acknowledge that a revolution is needed, not just incremental change. A revolution of the same magnitude as the green one, although with different objectives and patterns. Agriculture has been able to feed a humanity that has more than doubled in only 50 years. Fantastic! Meanwhile it has proved to be harmful to the environment; it has left people behind and there is a growing recognition that diet induced diseases are becoming the number one problem in public health. Many evidence are available, in particular in the reports from the HLPE.

2. Food production systems have been blamed as a source of problems and controversies. After looking at reconciliation between agriculture and the environment, there is a growing belief that agriculture can move from being a problem to being part of the solution. I may provide one example among many other possible. Agroecology as an opportunity. Its principles are now well established, but how to put them into

practice on a larger scale to realize its potential contribution raises many questions, as highlighted by the works of my colleagues and by the recent HLPE note on critical and emerging issues for food security and nutrition. I may have provided many other examples.

3. Yet, to consider agriculture as a lever, we should not succumb to the illusion of systematic win-win-win or to the practice of green or social washing, motivated by the access to funding or the recovery of a positive reputation. Real change is needed! paradigms, practices, governance of the whole food systems. We should not be shy about controversies. They are at the heart of changes to be undertaken. Agriculture will be a game changer if the transformation is considered within the wide perspective of food systems. This transformation should begin by looking at consumption and production together and thus addressing SDG 12. We have to move beyond an exclusive focus on supply and to look at production systems' capacity to contribute to multiple functions by improving resource efficiency, strengthening resilience and securing social equity and responsibility. We should also look at the consequences across countries and sectors, direct or indirect, short and long distance, short and long terms.

4. We would then not only address 2.4, but the whole SDG 2 and, further, the whole Agenda 2030. Because the agricultural sector lies at the heart of a nexus that brings together decent jobs, social equity, environment health and justice, climate change, human health, energy, and last but not least peace and political stability. This is the real meaning to bring agriculture in SDG 2, and not just to advocate for an increase in production, whether sustainable or not.

5. The revolution we need is not a single one. There is no magic bullet to be scaled up. Innovations will have to be context specific and based on embedded adapted technological and organizational solutions, as highlighted by the Sustainable Food and Agriculture approach promoted by the FAO. 5. Many territorial driven revolutions to be transformative at the global level!

6. Yet, local change is not enough. Changes at local, national and global levels should converge, as highlighted by the CFS Global Strategic Framework for FSN. The challenge to reframe governance of food systems by looking at consistency among scales is huge, to ensure the right to food, to boost learning processes, to address trade-offs and to implement risk prevention mechanisms. Because of this needed plurality and consistency at the global level, I like to refer to a rainbow revolution, made of different colors, yet making a desired whole. Just like the 2030 pin! A rainbow revolution!

7. This challenge will be knowledge intensive, building upon all forms of knowledge and requiring a huge investment in research, not only to deliver technology, but also to understand dynamics, to provide relevant metrics (think about the 2.4 criteria), to highlight disagreements and controversies for fueling policy making through adapted policy-science interface as the one put in place by the CFS, and to stimulate the design of possible futures. Knowledge and science at the heart!

As a conclusion, if I restrict myself to one suggestion only to be brought to the HLPF, this would be the implementation of an inclusive Marshall Plan for agriculture. Not to increase production for a growing population, rather to build upon the sector capacity to innovate, to make a rainbow revolution of food systems possible and to provide a lever for the whole 2030 Agenda.


(In reference to the question who pays for a transformation of agriculture and food systems)

Farming is mainly a private activity implemented locally mostly by SSF in most parts of the world, in particular in developing countries. Yet their innovative activities, including the ongoing development of agricultural biodiversity and agroecological practices are in the public interest from local to global.

SSF has to be an attractive option, source of decent employment, rural livelihoods, access to health and education. Cannot expect to SSF subsidize global welfare while being often being poor and food insecure themselves. Fine to think about how to link to markets, other means to make these activities profitable while still using agroecological practices, including conservation and development of agrobiodiversity but this is complicated. But some things are simple; we just lack the political will to do it. We need government support. But I don’t think we can get away from the need for government support and I would like to see HLPF put at least equal focus on appropriate responsibility of governments globally and locally because it is their job to protect the public interest, the corporate private sector does not feel this is their job. Right now we subsidize production of unhealthy foods; imagine what we could achieve if we subsidized SSF, agroecological practices, agricultural biodiversity, focused R&D dollars on agroecological methods. We can tax financial transactions, seed sales, there is so much we could do to transform our food system if there were the political will so the question is how do we raise sufficient awareness to get it?

Agricultural biodiversity and genetic diversity are often used as if one is a synonym for other. Even on this panel both terms were used without distinction. They are not synonymous. SDG2.5 genetic diversity is the term used and is defined of seed, cultivated plants, domesticated livestock and wild relatives.

Session on SDG 2.5


Agricultural diversity is genetic, within crops or livestock; the diversity between crops and animal species, and at the ecosystem level. This a dynamic process, not a thing the way a seed in a seed bank might be seen. When you look at it this way, you are taking a systemic look and are including the diversity in soils, the effect on pollinators, nutrient cycling etc. Focusing on genetic resources as defined in SDG2.5 might lead some to believe that all the world needs is robust ex situ collection of seeds (or sperm/eggs as the case may be) and we don’t have to worry about agricultural biodiversity anymore.

Another danger with focus on seeds and then a reference to seed banks, is it is much simpler to message ex situ collections as sufficient even those these are snap shots in time and thus far do not link effectively to the SSF (though this is hopefully changing.) Ex situ collections are important, but what is in them is dwarfed by what is in farmers’ fields and evolving in response to pressures and farmer selection and breeding. Ex situ collections are important but they should be a complementary measure. But because it is easier to explain, it is easier to finance. Just look at the funding to Svalbard and the Global Crop Diversity Trust and what is flowing through the fund for SSF of the ITPGRFA. The former dwarfs the latter, even though if you looked at the amount of what is being developed and maintained, the funding situation should be flipped.

Not to underestimate the value of the CBD and the ITPGRFA (because they are so much more than their ABS provisions) I am concerned about the focus on ABS; this has been an issue in the CBD and in particular in the ITPGRFA in terms of benefits generated and shared. ABS raises the hope that the benefits that will be generated by access will be sufficient to support ILC and SSF and it never will. Again, it can be one mechanisms and we have spent millions of dollars to develop them, but at least for ITPGRFA no money has been generated to fund SSF.

So would like to see HLPF note the need to see genetic diversity more broadly than stated in SDG2.5, the importance of on-farm and in-situ maintenance and development of agricultural biodiversity since at the moment the example is ex situ collections and meaningful methods to support agricultural biodiversity and agrobiodiverse system that go beyond ABS.

Session on Means of Implementation: Investment, trade, markets and finance

Fran McCrae, Policy Manager, International Cooperative Alliance

Good morning, everyone.

Today, I would like to share with you how co-operative enterprises are contributing to the implementation of SDG2 by facilitating the access of small-scale producers to finance, inputs, and markets.

Because not everyone knows what a co-operative is, as a refresher, co-operatives are enterprises, owned and democratically managed by people.

Members, whether producers, customers, or workers, are the owners of the business, not investors.

The purpose of a co-operative is to serve its members’ economic and social needs, rather than increase profits for shareholders.

All co-operatives are based on a set of values that include self-help, democracy, equality, and solidarity, among others.

To put these values into practice, co-operatives subscribe to seven principles, among which are open and voluntary membership, member economic participation, and concern for community.

Though co-operatives are locally rooted, they are an important economic and social force in the world.

The co-operatives that make up the International Co-operative Alliance come from 100 countries and represent a billion of the world’s citizens.

The largest 300 co-operatives and mutuals in the world had a combined turnover in 2015 of 2.5 trillion US dollars, higher than the GDP of France.

And co-operatives secure the livelihoods of 250 million people, either through direct employment or by organizing their economic activities through co-operatives.

So how are co-operatives an important means of implementation for SDG2?

They help small agricultural producers overcome the many challenges they face as individuals.

Being often based in remote, rural areas, these obstacles are often a question of access: to markets, natural resources, information about food prices and market trends, high-quality inputs (equipment, seeds, fertilizer), loans to purchase those inputs, and transport, storage and other infrastructure.

When producers come together in a co-operative, individuals benefit from the strength of the collective, while preserving their autonomy.

Session on Means of implementation: Science Technology and Innovation, Capacity building, Systemic issues

Luc Gnacadja, LoCAL Programme Board of the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) of the UNCDF

(with reference to lessons learnt from UNCDF’s programs LoCAL, F4F and LoCARB)

It has been said and recalled that in the developing world, especially in the LDCs the implementation of SDG2 is intrinsically linked to the following 3 SDGs:

• that of eradicating rural poverty (or SDG1), • of climate action for building adaptation and resilience (of SDG 13) • and restoring the degraded livelihood-based assets of the poor and achieving land degradation

neutrality (SDG 15), and this 4th that often overlook when to discuss SDG2 • SDG11 about sustainable cities and communities All significant success and progress made about SDG2 and rural poverty with integration of those other

SDGs have one thing in common: some level of decentralized planning and action.

My key message is:

To achieve SDG 1 & 2 in the developing countries, especially in Africa and in the LDCs, we must build or enhance the last mile of governance infrastructure system.

It often doesn’t exist or is in very poor conditions. Local governments are best suited and by their mandate have a large share of responsibilities for managing and coordinating local stakeholders’ partnerships; yet they lack resources and capacities to play their crucial role (SDG 16, build strong institutions)

Empowered local authorities can be game changers in the following 3 avenues:

1. Better prioritizing the poor, attending to smallholder farmers’ challenges and unleashing their potential through agriculture extension services, effective land administration, coordinating actions that transform the local food production systems of their territory and build their resilience

2. Coordinating holistically local level stakeholders’ coordination, consider and manage urban-rural cross subsidies with consideration of landscapes approaches and ecosystem services as well as access to local market can be better and effectively addressed

3. Consider their local food system and coordinate related actions and partnerships. Among the specific challenges of local food systems in developing countries especially the LDCs:

o The existing resources are not valued because of a lack of capital availability o The valuation of the offer prevail (Value chain & approach sector) o Supports for the food security at the local level are scattered and sometimes contradictory

Given that climatic shocks are systemic threat to achieving SDG2 and eradicating rural poverty, I consider the following 3 steps approach at local level:

1. Local climate adaptation: Build or climate proof local agriculture infrastructures including for access to local markets

2. Local food system: Ensure more effective food security interventions coordinated and facilitated through LGs,

And build the resilience of the local food system (Understand the challenges, potentials and opportunities of the local food system)

3. Identify private investments opportunities that complement public investments for climate adaptation and for local food systems and mobilize PPPs

Sharing Lessons learnt from the implementation of the Local climate adaptive living facility of the UNCDF (see www.uncdf-local.org)

LoCAL is a facility and a mechanism with the main purpose of mainstreaming climate change adaptation into local government’s budget planning and execution systems.

LoCAL is now operational and impactful in some 60 local territories in 12 LDCs in Africa and Asia (Benin, Mali, Niger, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Lao, Tuvalu.

3 key steps:

1. Use local climate adaptation as entry point in very vulnerable local territories of the country

2. Decentralize climate finance for adaptation to targeted LGs through monitored national fiscal transfer

3. Use the decentralized climate finance for adaptation as smart subsidies and incentives for the transformation of LGs’ investment budget planning and execution, to build the adaptation and resilience of their territories. Following assistance for assessing vulnerability to climatic shocks and for programmatic planning of investments in local budgets, the mobilized adaptation finance is effectively transferred in the form of financial top-ups to local budget as performance-based climate resilient grants. Monitoring involves all involved stakeholders.

Key challenges and lessons learnt and their policy implications:

1. Top-down and centralized programs and actions are the critical determinants of failure of multi-sectoral partnerships to end hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, and decentralized ones are critical determinant of success

2. Local level’s mandate and responsibilities for promoting and coordinating stakeholders and partnerships fall under Local governments, but these responsibilities are largely unfunded

3. Local existing resources and potentials and opportunities in the context of achieve SDG2 often are not valued because of a lack of capital availability; it is the valuation of the offer that prevails

4. I believe that LoCAL and related programs constitute compelling examples of "new model" for SDG partnerships in the LDCs that build the governance ecosystem requires for success in achieving SDG1 & 2 and those directly related as SDGs 13 and 15, mobilize real resources including from local private sectors that directly benefit family farmers?

5. Mapping local territories challenges and opportunities for implementing the SDGs and identify their resources and opportunities for success (especially SDGs 1 & 2), is needed to mobilize resources and build subnational-local-communities-landscape level ownership of actions and success

6. Build inclusive, shock-responsive and resilient local food security systems/mechanisms in the context of the management of local natural resources and commons

7. Enhanced local governments capacities for multi stakeholder coordination

8. Consider Smart subsidies that support the transition towards more productive and climate-proofed and resilient territories and local food prod system: Perfomance-based climate resilient grant (PBCRG)

9. And smart subsidies that also Unlock local private investments and PPPs

10. Small-holder famers respond to incentives and access to market. Consider smart subsidies that also improve farmers’ access to local market and beyond

11. Test and develop a systematic approach of the food security at local level

12. Value local governance of food security through LGs’ coordination and management system

13. Promote long-lasting financial mechanisms for public goods, to facilitate local food system’s stakeholder access to loan and private financing

Hope Shand, ETC Group - EGM on SDG2, first morning plenary:

Clearly, smallholder producers are NOT operating on a level playing field. To achieve targets of SDG2, we believe it is critically important that the High Level Panel (HLPF) be advised to examine how unprecedented levels of corporate concentration threaten to undermine efforts to make food systems and agricultural practices more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.

Economists warn that when four firms control more than 40% market share, there’s a greater risk of anti-competitive behavior and a dampening effect on innovation. Three-firm concentration far exceeds that marker in the commercial seed, agrochemical and farm equipment sectors.

Globally, we're seeing unprecedented levels of corporate control over the very basis of food and agricultural production.

Meanwhile, ChemChina is in the process of acquiring Syngenta, Bayer is trying to buy Monsanto, and Dow and Dupont are trying to merge.

If proposed mega-mergers are allowed to proceed, 3 companies could control more than 60% of commercial seed sales worldwide, and 70% of the global pesticide market.

Increasing corporate concentration up and down the food chain undermines food security – especially for the vulnerable and marginalized. The mega mergers we’re seeing now, with more to come, threaten to reduce innovation, increase producer costs, diminish biodiversity and further de-stabilize rural communities and the livelihoods of smallholders.

With the convergence of new technologies, especially Big Data and genomics, we’re seeing corporate control of entire technological platforms that limit alternatives for farmers, who become locked onto a technological pathway, producing even greater dependency on a handful of corporate drivers.

Governments can take steps to insure competition and protect innovation, but competition policy regulators need information about corporate market share, technology platforms and more. Governments need policy guidance about re-building public sector agricultural research and extension.

For the realization of SDG2, we urge the Expert Group Meeting to advise the HLPF of the critical need to examine the implications of corporate consolidation -- with a view to policy guidance for national, regional and global regulatory action.

Hope Shand, ETC Group - EGM on SDG 2, morning and afternoon of Day 2:

Technology is a key cross-cutting theme of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 13 of the 17 SDGs specify that technological solutions will be necessary to achieve them. But new and disruptive technologies relating to food and agriculture -- including artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, gene editing, and more -- come with promises and pitfalls. There are risks that technologies could perpetuate or worsen inequalities across countries and among different segments of the population, and it’s important to understand the control and ownership of those technologies. It’s important to make wise choices about technology, with careful consideration of possible unintended impacts and unforeseen consequences. (biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and more).

In December, Mexico hosted the Expert Group Meeting on Exponential Technological Change, Automation and their Policy Implications for Sustainable Development. One of the key recommendations that emerged was that there is a need for more in-depth technological studies or assessments on exponential technological change

In keeping with this recommendation, ETC Group would like to offer a proposal for a Global Overview Assessment of Technological Systems or GOATS. The idea is to provide a proposed approach to Science, Technology and Innovation Governance for Sustainability – shaped around the 17 SDGs.

The Global Overview Assessment of Technological Systems would be designed to thematically mirror the priorities established by the High Level Political Forum and the STI Forum.

We welcome the chance to share more information about GOATS – the approach is based on multi-actor Global Overview Assessment, with the methodology of technology landscaping and the principles of Participatory Technology Assessment. GOATS could serve as an essential input to the deliberations of the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism and the HLPF.

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