Putting agrifood systems strategies into practice: Good practices from across continents

25 August 2025 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Four years since the UN Food Systems Summit, the 2025 UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake UNFSS+4, has provided a critical space to reflect on progress, ensure efforts translate into concrete results, and accelerate the realization of the right to food for all. 

At the UNFSS+4 side event “Putting agrifood systems strategies into practice- Learnings from the African Union Development Agency, Zambia, Rwanda, Ireland, and Chile”, countries from Africa, Europe and Latin America showcased how they are turning national strategies into tangible results.  

Co-organized by the Government of Ireland and FAO, the session brought together senior policymakers from AUDA-NEPAD, Chile, Ireland, Rwanda, and Zambia.  The panelists underscored the importance of embedding tools that promote multistakeholder and multisectoral collaboration into national agrifood systems strategies - sending a clear message: it’s time to move from commitments to implementation.  

Moderated by Mark Fynn, Policy Officer, FAO, the session opened with insights from Tom Arnold, Chair, Ireland-Africa Rural Development Committee (IARDC), and Coumba D. Sow, United Nations Resident Coordinator of Togo.

UN Resident Coordinator of Togo, Coumba D. Sow, addresses the audience during the UNFSS+4 side event. 
© UN Food Systems Coordination Hub  

Tom Arnold emphasized the need for policy tools to adopt systems approaches in order to navigate the complexity of agrifood systems. He spotlighted Ireland’s long-standing collaboration with partners including FAO, AUDA-NEPAD and University College London (UCL); and announced a, soon to be launched, facilitator’s manual on policy tools and methods for systems approaches, developed together with FAO, Ireland and UCL. 

Drawing on evidence from the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, Coumba Sow stressed the need for robust policy frameworks, adequate investment in innovation, inclusive processes, and continuous learning to make real progress. She also called for integrating a systems approach into policymaking. 

Ireland: Shared vision and collective action

"We want to build strong, effective trading partners with countries, but we also want to share the expertise" 
-Brendan Gleeson, Secretary General, DAFM, Ireland 

Moving from strategy to transformation - Brendan Gleeson, Secretary General, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland, shared that promoting a culture of cross-sector collaboration into policymaking processes was key. He highlighted the importance of bringing diverse disciplines and stakeholders together around a shared vision, especially when complex issues arise.

Secretary General, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Brendan Gleeson, addresses the audience during the UNFSS+4 side event. © UN Food Systems Coordination Hub 

The development of Ireland’s agrifood strategies includes a focus on vision, political buy-in, having a trusted facilitator, building good partnerships, mobilizing state institutions and the private sector around a policy roadmap towards a common goal.   Also central to the country's approach has been shifting investments towards environmental sustainability and public goods, and adopting institutional mechanisms that promote transparency and accountability. Through the Sustainable Food Systems Ireland (SFSI) initiative, the country shares knowledge internationally on food safety, livestock and aquaculture breeding and productivity. 

AUDA-NEPAD: Embedding a systems approach into policy frameworks

AUDA-NEPAD emphasized that agrifood systems transformation requires a 'whole-of-society' approach. Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, Director for Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Sustainability, highlighted how the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), and its National Agriculture Investment Plans anchor country ownership and stakeholder participation in policymaking processes.  
But inclusive governance isn’t automatic: genuine multistakeholder coordination and policy coherence across the many sectors that are central to agrifood systems transformation remain significant challenges in many countries. It requires high-level political commitment, sustained engagement, evidence-based decision-making and domestic financing, supported by institutional mechanisms that promote broad participation and oversight. 

Zambia: From fragmented policies to whole-of-government action 

Zambia’s agrifood systems transformation is about putting collaboration at the center, bringing sectors and stakeholders together. As Oscar Chita, Assistant Director at the Ministry of Agriculture, shared, the country’s new Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Strategic Programme (CATSP) marks a deliberate move away from fragmented, sector-specific approaches toward one that connects actors, policies, and governance mechanisms across the entire agrifood system. 

This shift didn’t happen in isolation. The process involved broad-based consultations, inclusive of district authorities through to national ministries, while also engaging the private sector, civil society, academia, research institutions, and development partners to ensure inclusive and evidence-driven decision-making.  Importantly, Zambia has also raised the political profile of agrifood transformation. Oversight now sits with the High Council for Agricultural Transformation, chaired by the President himself, sending a strong signal that agrifood systems are not side issues, but play a central role in the country’s development agenda. 

Rwanda: Turning plans into action through local leadership and practical systems thinking

Rwanda is not simply planning its agrifood systems transformation; it is implementing it. Alexandre Rutikanga, National Convenor and Chief Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, quoted a statement by Peter Drucker: “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately [translate] into hard work.” That ethos of action is what defines Rwanda’s journey from strategy to delivery. 

The Fifth Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA5) marks a turning point: it is the country’s first national strategy designed from the ground up with an agrifood systems and climate resilience lens. Developed through consultations with over 2000 stakeholders and co-led by the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance, PSTA5 responds to the real, lived challenges of Rwandans, ranging from youth unemployment and malnutrition to land scarcity and climate shocks. 

Chile: Intersectoral action for healthier food systems

In Chile, the health of people and the health of agrifood systems are addressed holistically, acknowledging that one cannot thrive without the other. As Valeska Naranjo, National Convenor and Executive Secretary of Elige Vivir Sano (Choose to Live Healthy), explained, the country’s intersectoral strategy brings together ministries, institutions, and communities to address malnutrition and non-communicable diseases by changing how food is produced, accessed, and consumed.  

The Elige Vivir Sano initiative, housed under the Ministry of Social Development and Family, coordinates five strategic pillars to promote healthier agrifood systems. One of these, food security and nutrition, is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and implemented in close collaboration with the Ministries of Social Development and Family, Health, Economy, Education, Environment, and Foreign Affairs. This whole-of-government model reflects Chile’s recognition that no single ministry can tackle complex health and nutrition challenges alone. Efforts are also underway to strengthen governance mechanisms by making them more inclusive of all actors (including civil society, academia, and the private sector), though this process is still in development. 

Connected challenges, connected solution

In her closing remarks, Corinna Hawkes, Director of FAO’s Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, reflected on the common ground that emerged across diverse country experiences. Despite different contexts, countries are grappling with many of the same challenges, and finding meaningful ways to respond.

She emphasized that no 'one-size-fits-all' exists: strategies must be adapted to local realities. Still, there is immense value in listening to how others are making change happen, from national planning to grassroots implementation.

Corinna Hawkes also acknowledged that coordination is never easy. It requires more than technical expertise: it takes facilitation, trust-building, and time. More than anything, she said, it calls for human spirit, courage and belief in change. That same spirit, she added, is essential to involve young people meaningfully in shaping the future of agrifood systems.

Learn more

• Transforming Food and Agriculture through a Systems Approach (FAO, 2025): https://doi.org/10.4060/cd6071en 
• Rethinking our food systems: A guide for multi-stakeholder collaboration (FAO, 2023) https://doi.org/10.4060/cc6325en
• National processes shaping food systems transformations. Lessons from Costa Rica, Ireland and Rwanda (FAO, 2021): https://doi.org/10.4060/cb6149en