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The upcoming Second United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake will aim to open up investment avenues for sustaining initiatives to tranform food systems and scaling them to help achieve United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals, said UN deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed.
The Stocktake will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during July 28-30, 2025.
Transforming the world's food systems is critical for achieving several SDGs, Mohammed said, especially with just five years left to deliver on the 2030 Agenda.
Finance has been identified as a crucial component to bring about the necessary changes in the food systems. The Addis Ababa Stocktake, co-hosted by Italy, will also produce a report recording the progress made since the previous Stocktake in 2023 and another assessment by the stakeholders, Mohammed shared.
The event will also see concerted efforts to monitor commitments and outcomes within national food system pathways that help achieve SDG targets and their implementation.
A series of briefings will take take place in the run-up to the Second Stocktake to ensure inclusive, cross-sectoral efforts and consultations, the UN deputy secretary-general shared.
A combined briefing for UN Headquarters in Nairobi, Rome and Geneva will take place in Nairobi during February 24-28, 2025, she announced. Further, five regional briefings will be organised during the UN Regional Forums on Sustainable Development from March to May, she added.
These platforms will be important to foster collective action and create new investment opportunities for transforming food systems, she noted.
The first Summit Stocktake helped identify the need for public-private-community partnerships and improve private sector participation, Mohammed said. It had resulted in the Secretary-General's 'Call to Action' that highlighted six areas for concerted action. These included securing concessional finance, investments, budget support and debt restructuring. "It also emphasised addressing food security in crisis situations."
The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit provided an outline for a new approach to food systems, where food is at the heart of global efforts to address poverty, zero hunger, inequality, climate change and biodiversity loss. Amid rising living costs, social inequalities, climate change and geopolitical tensions, achieving these food systems transformations has become all the more urgent, the UN official stated.
"We are grateful to the Government of Ethiopia for hosting this important event and for making our commitment to take the second stocktake to a developing country, a reality," she said.