Enhancing Resilience in Food Systems: Key Discussions and Future Directions from the IBC-SFS Retreat
The Regional UN Issue-Based Coalition on Sustainable Food Systems (IBC-SFS) for Europe and Central Asia held its first in-person retreat in Copenhagen on November 20, 2024. Key members from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the Regional Development and Coordination Office (R-DCO) participated. The retreat focused on strengthening collaboration, reviewing the coalition’s strategic positioning, and enhancing support for UN Resident Coordinators (UNRCs) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs).
Discussions centered on aligning the IBC-SFS with regional and global mechanisms, improving knowledge exchange, and identifying key areas for the 2025 work plan, such as food systems mapping, technical webinars, and AI-driven solutions. Participants stressed the importance of interagency collaboration, policy alignment, and capacity-building for sustainable food systems.
Dr. Kornelia Radics and Mrs. Natalia Berghi attended the retreat representing WMO and its Regional Office for Europe. As the WMO Regional Focal Point for the IBC-SFS, Mrs. Berghi highlighted the significant challenges food systems face, particularly those linked to climate change and extreme weather events. She outlined WMO’s solutions, focusing on enhancing early warning systems and climate services to strengthen food system resilience. She also emphasized the Early Warning for All (EW4All) initiative, ensuring vulnerable communities have access to timely, accurate climate information. These efforts are essential for fostering a holistic approach to food systems, with an emphasis on data integration, regional collaboration, and cross-sectoral coordination.
A key point of discussion was the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in transforming food systems. Mrs. Berghi stressed the potential of AI-driven solutions to address food system challenges and improve resilience. To explore this further, discussions will continue within the Digital Transformation Group of the Regional UN Collaborative Platform, where Mrs. Berghi also serves as the WMO Regional Focal Point. A potential webinar and other related activities will be organized to explore AI’s contributions to sustainable food system transformation.
The retreat concluded with Dr. Kornelia Radics thanking participants for their active involvement. She acknowledged the retreat's achievements, particularly the refinement of IBC-SFS’s strategic direction, the exchange of knowledge, and the establishment of priorities for the 2025 work plan. Dr. Radics reiterated WMO’s commitment to supporting climate-resilient food systems through its expertise in climate services, early warning systems, and actionable data, and emphasized the need to build on the momentum from the retreat for greater collective impact.
The IBC-SFS 2025 work plan is still under discussion and is expected to be finalized at the next meeting in late January.