Advisory Committee and Scientific Group for the 2021 Food Systems Summit
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
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Web resource
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Rome-based Agencies, will convene the Food Systems Summit in 2021, as a critical contribution to the Decade of Action to deliver the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Summit will raise global awareness to understand the food systems challenges we must solve, build a global conversation on the way in which we produce, process, and consume food, and galvanize global actions and commitments to change our food systems to provide safe, nutritious food for all within our planetary boundaries. As noted by the Secretary-General in the recent Policy Brief on the Impact of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition, investment both during and after the COVID crisis can accelerate movement toward food systems that are more inclusive and resilient to future pandemics and that offer better protections for all.
To create a truly catalytic moment, the inclusive Summit process led by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Dr Agnes Kalibata, will be informed by all-of-society conversations to extract the best evidence, ideas, initiatives and alliances from around the world. It also builds on the many existing global events, agreements, collaborations, and platforms such as the Committee on World Food Security that are already supporting the transformation of our food systems.
To facilitate this process and its success, the UN Secretary-General is forming a number of support structures. A multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee will provide strategic guidance and feedback on the Summit’s overall development and implementation. The following support mechanisms will feed into the Advisory Committee with each led by a member of the Advisory group:
An independent Scientific Group will bring to bear the foremost scientific evidence, and help expand the base of shared knowledge about experiences, approaches, and tools for driving sustainable food systems.
A system-wide UN Task Force will ensure that the Summit can build on the knowledge and unique capabilities of the entire UN system to deliver on this agenda beyond the Summit.
An open Champions Network will serve to mobilize a large and diverse group of stakeholders from the full range of constituencies that make up the food system, and drawn from all regions of the world, to champion food systems transformation by the time of the Summit moment and continue beyond.
Today I am pleased to announce the official establishment of these structures. The UN Deputy Secretary-General will Chair the Advisory Committee. It will be comprised of Member State representatives as well as senior officials of relevant UN agencies, other international organizations, and individual experts across different sectors, including farmers, indigenous peoples, civil society, researchers, academics, young people, and business leaders. There is strong gender parity among the expert members and representation from all regions of the world.
The Scientific Group will be Chaired by Dr. Joachim von Braun and the UN Task Force will be Chaired by the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen. More information on the constitution of the Champions Network will be shared in the coming weeks.
It is anticipated that the Advisory Committee will convene its first meeting in July and it will meet quarterly leading up to the Summit.
Advisory Committee Members
1. Qu Dongyu, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
2. Gilbert Houngbo, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
3. David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)
4. Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Netherlands
5. Gerda Verburg, Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, Netherlands
6. Shamshad Akhtar, Former UN Under-Secretary General, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Pakistan
7. Esther Penunia, Secretary General, Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development, Philippines
8. Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, Pan-African Farmers Organization, Uganda
9. Joachim von Braun, University of Bonn, Germany
10. Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
11. David Nabarro, Strategic Director, 4SD, United Kingdom
12. Myrna Cunningham Kain, President, Fund for Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), Nicaragua
13. Christine Gould, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Thought for Food, United States
14. Chavannes Casseus, Coordinator of MP3K, Haiti
15. Argentina
16. Antigua and Barbuda
17. China
18. Fiji
19. France
20. Hungary
21. Italy
22. Liberia
23. Morocco
24. Russian Federation
25. United Arab Emirates
26. United States of America
Scientific Group Members
1. Prof. Joachim von Braun, Bonn University, ZEF, Germany (Chair)
2. Prof. Kaosar Afsana, BRAC University, Bangladesh (Vice Chair)
3. Prof. Louise Fresco, Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands (Vice Chair)
4. Prof. Mohamed Hassan, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Sudan (Vice Chair)
5. Dr. Mario Herrero Acosta, CSIRO, Costa Rica
6. Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Akademiya2063, Senegal
7. Prof. Patrick Caron, University of Montpellier, France
8. Prof. Martin Cole, CSIRO and Committee on World Food Security, High Level Panel of Experts, Australia
9. Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Morocco
10. Prof. Frank Ewert, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany
11. Prof.em. Lisa Sennerby Forsse, Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA), Sweden
12. Prof. Sheryl Hendricks, University of Pretoria, South Africa
13. Prof. Thomas Hertel, Purdue University, United States of America
14. Prof.em. Elizabeth Hodson de Jaramillo, Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Colombia
15. Prof. Jikun Huang, Peking University, China
16. Dr. Marta Hugas, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Spain
17. Dr. Andrew Kambugu, Makerere University, Infectious Disease Institute, Uganda
18. Prof. Kaoru Kitajima, Kyoto University, Japan
19. Prof. Rattan Lal, Ohio State University, India
20. Prof. Hoesung Lee, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), South Korea
21. Dr. Uma Lele, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), India
22. Prof.em. Urs Niggli, agroecology.science, Switzerland
23. Dr. Lynnette Neufeld, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and International Union of Nutrition Scientists (IUNS), Canada
24. Dr. Claudia Sadoff, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), CGIAR, United States of America
25. Prof. Jean-Francois Soussana, Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRAE), France
26. Prof. Morakot Tanticharoen, National Science & Technology Development Agency of Thailand (NSTDA), Thailand
27. Prof.em. Aman Wirakartakusumah, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Indonesia
28. Prof. David Zilbermann, University of California Berkeley, Israel
29. Dr. Maximo Torero, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (ex-officio)
The Summit will raise global awareness to understand the food systems challenges we must solve, build a global conversation on the way in which we produce, process, and consume food, and galvanize global actions and commitments to change our food systems to provide safe, nutritious food for all within our planetary boundaries. As noted by the Secretary-General in the recent Policy Brief on the Impact of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition, investment both during and after the COVID crisis can accelerate movement toward food systems that are more inclusive and resilient to future pandemics and that offer better protections for all.
To create a truly catalytic moment, the inclusive Summit process led by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Dr Agnes Kalibata, will be informed by all-of-society conversations to extract the best evidence, ideas, initiatives and alliances from around the world. It also builds on the many existing global events, agreements, collaborations, and platforms such as the Committee on World Food Security that are already supporting the transformation of our food systems.
To facilitate this process and its success, the UN Secretary-General is forming a number of support structures. A multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee will provide strategic guidance and feedback on the Summit’s overall development and implementation. The following support mechanisms will feed into the Advisory Committee with each led by a member of the Advisory group:
An independent Scientific Group will bring to bear the foremost scientific evidence, and help expand the base of shared knowledge about experiences, approaches, and tools for driving sustainable food systems.
A system-wide UN Task Force will ensure that the Summit can build on the knowledge and unique capabilities of the entire UN system to deliver on this agenda beyond the Summit.
An open Champions Network will serve to mobilize a large and diverse group of stakeholders from the full range of constituencies that make up the food system, and drawn from all regions of the world, to champion food systems transformation by the time of the Summit moment and continue beyond.
Today I am pleased to announce the official establishment of these structures. The UN Deputy Secretary-General will Chair the Advisory Committee. It will be comprised of Member State representatives as well as senior officials of relevant UN agencies, other international organizations, and individual experts across different sectors, including farmers, indigenous peoples, civil society, researchers, academics, young people, and business leaders. There is strong gender parity among the expert members and representation from all regions of the world.
The Scientific Group will be Chaired by Dr. Joachim von Braun and the UN Task Force will be Chaired by the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen. More information on the constitution of the Champions Network will be shared in the coming weeks.
It is anticipated that the Advisory Committee will convene its first meeting in July and it will meet quarterly leading up to the Summit.
Advisory Committee Members
1. Qu Dongyu, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
2. Gilbert Houngbo, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
3. David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)
4. Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Netherlands
5. Gerda Verburg, Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, Netherlands
6. Shamshad Akhtar, Former UN Under-Secretary General, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Pakistan
7. Esther Penunia, Secretary General, Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development, Philippines
8. Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, Pan-African Farmers Organization, Uganda
9. Joachim von Braun, University of Bonn, Germany
10. Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
11. David Nabarro, Strategic Director, 4SD, United Kingdom
12. Myrna Cunningham Kain, President, Fund for Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), Nicaragua
13. Christine Gould, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Thought for Food, United States
14. Chavannes Casseus, Coordinator of MP3K, Haiti
15. Argentina
16. Antigua and Barbuda
17. China
18. Fiji
19. France
20. Hungary
21. Italy
22. Liberia
23. Morocco
24. Russian Federation
25. United Arab Emirates
26. United States of America
Scientific Group Members
1. Prof. Joachim von Braun, Bonn University, ZEF, Germany (Chair)
2. Prof. Kaosar Afsana, BRAC University, Bangladesh (Vice Chair)
3. Prof. Louise Fresco, Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands (Vice Chair)
4. Prof. Mohamed Hassan, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Sudan (Vice Chair)
5. Dr. Mario Herrero Acosta, CSIRO, Costa Rica
6. Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Akademiya2063, Senegal
7. Prof. Patrick Caron, University of Montpellier, France
8. Prof. Martin Cole, CSIRO and Committee on World Food Security, High Level Panel of Experts, Australia
9. Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Morocco
10. Prof. Frank Ewert, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany
11. Prof.em. Lisa Sennerby Forsse, Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA), Sweden
12. Prof. Sheryl Hendricks, University of Pretoria, South Africa
13. Prof. Thomas Hertel, Purdue University, United States of America
14. Prof.em. Elizabeth Hodson de Jaramillo, Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Colombia
15. Prof. Jikun Huang, Peking University, China
16. Dr. Marta Hugas, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Spain
17. Dr. Andrew Kambugu, Makerere University, Infectious Disease Institute, Uganda
18. Prof. Kaoru Kitajima, Kyoto University, Japan
19. Prof. Rattan Lal, Ohio State University, India
20. Prof. Hoesung Lee, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), South Korea
21. Dr. Uma Lele, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), India
22. Prof.em. Urs Niggli, agroecology.science, Switzerland
23. Dr. Lynnette Neufeld, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and International Union of Nutrition Scientists (IUNS), Canada
24. Dr. Claudia Sadoff, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), CGIAR, United States of America
25. Prof. Jean-Francois Soussana, Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRAE), France
26. Prof. Morakot Tanticharoen, National Science & Technology Development Agency of Thailand (NSTDA), Thailand
27. Prof.em. Aman Wirakartakusumah, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Indonesia
28. Prof. David Zilbermann, University of California Berkeley, Israel
29. Dr. Maximo Torero, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (ex-officio)
Keywords
food systems
food security
SDGs targets
nutrition
health impacts
sustainable consumption