Transforming Food Systems: Pathways for Country-led Innovation

The report argues that transforming global food systems is an environmental and social imperative, as they currently emit up to one-third of global greenhouse gases and fail to provide equitable nutrition. It proposes a broad definition of innovation—encompassing societal, institutional, technological, and digital changes—to support national transformation pathways. The document outlines four key innovation areas: national and regional ecosystems, societal and institutional collaboration, knowledge and technology, and data and digital systems. It highlights specific mechanisms such as Food Innovation Hubs, the 100 Million Farmers platform, and the Global Coalition for Digital Food Systems Innovation to scale these efforts. The report also calls for countries to invest 1% of their food system-related GDP into innovation to end hunger and reduce emissions.

• Global food systems are currently unsustainable, contributing up to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and acting as a primary driver of biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and water scarcity.
• The report advocates for a broad, inclusive approach to innovation that moves beyond technology to include social, regional, and institutional changes, as well as the integration of traditional and indigenous knowledge.
• The Innovation Lever and the UN Food Systems Summit's Scientific Group recommend that countries invest 1% of their food system-related GDP in innovation, which could generate over $1 trillion in economic returns over the next decade.
• Food Innovation Hubs are proposed as a delivery mechanism to stimulate locally driven innovation ecosystems through multistakeholder action, with examples of such hubs being established or planned in Viet Nam, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, India, and Kenya.
• The 100 Million Farmers initiative aims to transition 100 million farmers toward net-zero, nature-positive food systems by 2030 by incentivizing sustainable production and enhancing consumer demand.
• The Global Coalition for Digital Food Systems Innovation employs three delivery platformsOne Map, the Data and Digital Marketplace Playbook, and Digital Data Cornucopiato create an open and inclusive data ecosystem for food systems.
• Digital tools are already being used to increase resilience, such as Kenya's Food Security War Room for real-time data and Safaricom's DigiFarm platform, which provides services to 1.4 million smallholders.
• Biological innovation in agriculture, aquaculture, and food production is estimated to potentially generate economic returns of up to $1.2 trillion over the next 1020 years.

APA

World Economic Forum (2022). Transforming Food Systems: Pathways for Country-led Innovation. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transformig_Food_System_2022.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Transforming Food Systems: Pathways for Country-led Innovation. 2022. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transformig_Food_System_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Transforming Food Systems: Pathways for Country-led Innovation |date=January 2022 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transformig_Food_System_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2022transforming, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Transforming Food Systems: Pathways for Country-led Innovation}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transformig_Food_System_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }