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7. The Efforts of the International Institutions/Private Sector
Under this agenda item, international institutions and private sector prespectives were reflected
to the discussions.
7.1. FAO
Ms. Lan LI, Economist at the Sustainable Market, Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART)
Program of FAO made a presentation during the Meeting reflecting the FAO’s perspectives on
sustainable food systems.
Ms. LI started her presentation with the definition of food systems approach. She stated that
taking a food systems approach means adopting integrated solutions to food system challenges
based on a holistic framing and deeper analysis of problems by a multi-disciplinary team. She
expressed that there are two reasons for taking food systems approach. First, food systems are
changing fast, getting more global, complex and interconnected every day – as development
practitioners, we cannot rely on methods that date from several decades ago when food systems
were more static and the opportunities and challenges were very different from those we face
today. We need to change our approaches along with the changing food systems. Second, a food
systems approach helps to frame a problem in a broader and deeper way than traditional
approaches. This leads to a greater understanding of the problem or opportunity and thus allows
us to design solutions that are likely to be far more effective and efficient.
Ms. LI informed the participants about the Food System Wheel which is a practical and structured
framework to navigate food system complexity. She stated that the food system does not exist in
isolation, but rather it overlaps and interacts with many other systems, such as the trade system,
the health system, the energy system, the social security system, and so on. The performance of
the food system depends on (and influences) the performance of these other systems and
therefore we need take these interactions into account
In her presentation, she also informed the participants about he Accelerator for Agribusiness and
Agro-industry Development and Innovation plus (3ADI+) initiative developed jointly by FAO and
UNIDO and implemented in Bangladesh, Suriname and Tanzania.
7.2. IDB Group
Mr. Sabi ER, Agricultural Markets &Trade Specialist from Islamic Development Bank ( IDB) Group
made a presentation titled “Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Experiences in Increasing
Resilience of the Food Systems.”
Mr. ER stated that the Food System is the network of activities from production, distribution,
marketing and consumption connected through complex social, ecological, and economic
relationships. He expressed that it is essential to have resilient food system in a country defined as
the capacity of people/institutions to produce and access nutritious and affordable food over time
and space in the face of disturbance and change.
Furthermore, he pointed out that in order to create resilient food systems in the OIC member
countries, IsDB has been implementing programs/projects to solve issues addressed in each stage
of the food system. For example, lack of productivity and climate change effects are main issues in