On September 15, the United Nations Food Systems Summit Independent Dialogue “Innovative Partnerships and Value Co-creation” was held in Beijing. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and Syngenta Group China co-organized this Dialogue. The Joint Research Plan of “Digital Village” was released by Agricultural Information Institute of CAAS and Sinochem Agriculture Holdings at the Dialogue.

The Dialogue aims to actively respond to the United Nations Food System Summit initiative, engage the public and private sectors and all stakeholders in dialogue, strengthen active partnerships, and promote frontier discussions and actions for transformation of food systems.

Dr. Sun Tan, Vice President of CAAS, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the United Nations Food System Summit, and Mr. Erik Fyrwald, CEO of Syngenta Group, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Dr. Zhang Yahui, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of CAAS presided over the opening ceremony.

Dr. Sun Tan stated that China’s food system transformation still faces many environmental and economic challenges. Strengthened capacity of food production towards low-carbon, healthy and green systems is inseparable from the support of science and technology.

Dr. Agnes Kalibata highly appreciated China’s effort in organizing this Dialogue as well as other contribution to the Summit. She expected this Dialogue to inspire all stakeholders, and contribute to make China’s food system more inclusive, sustainable and resilient.

Dr. Nie Fengying, the Member of the United Nations Food Systems Summit Advisory Committee, acted as the convenor of the Independent Dialogue. She emphasized the importance of innovative public-private partnership and calls for joint engagement for transforming our food systems to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

The Dialogue focused on the three topics: food system transformation, food loss and waste, and digital innovation for agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Representatives from IFAD, FAO, WFP and other relevant UN agencies, Thünen Institute (Germany), enterprises (e.g. Nestle and Alibaba), research institutions, and industry associations (e.g. China Cuisine Association) shared their views and knowledge from different perspectives, and reached consensus on the important role of the food system in climate, nutrition, and human development.

CAAS Scientists Dr. Xu Yinlong, Dr. Yin Changbin, Dr. Huang Jiaqi, and Dr. Chai Xiujuan shared the perspectives of green and sustainable agriculture, food losses and wastes, and digital agricultural technology to the public.

More than 150 domestic and foreign representatives participated in the Dialogue offline and online. The Foreign Agricultural Cooperation Public Information Service Platform (www.facisp.cn) conducted a live broadcast of the Dialogue in Chinese and English, and the number of online visits reached 5,059 hits.

By Huang Jiaqi (huangjiaqi@caas.cn)