The comprehensive document summarizing the outcomes of the sixth SFS-MED Webinar, titled “Green Growth: Strategies and Actions to Shift Towards Sustainable Agrifood Systems in the Mediterranean Region,” held on September 12 is now accessible. This document provides detailed insights into each speaker’s contributions and highlights the main key messages from the session.
The webinar, featured valuable insights from the following contributors:
- Nora Ourabah Haddad – FAO Representative in Lebanon, FAO
- Yasmine Seghirate El Guerrab – Administrator, CIHEAM
- Joan Colón Jordá – Head of the Sustainability Accounting and Optimization Unit, BETA Technological Center at UVIC-UCC
- Nada AlFreihat – Head of the Organizations Section, Directorate of Agreements and International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture of Jordan
- Antonella Autino – PRIMA Secretariat Project Coordinator
- Bernard Ader – Vice-president, Committee of Professional Agricultural Organizations – General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives (COPA COGECA) and President, French National Council for Food Resilience (CNRA)
- Madhi Khomsi – Project Coordinator, BusinessMED
- Ebru Edin – Chairperson, Business Council for Sustainable Development Türkiye (SKD Türkiye)
- Giuseppe Provenzano – Project Manager, Higher Education and Research Division, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)
This session aimed to address the key questions:
- What are the most effective and feasible strategies, incentives and technological solutions for greening agrifood systems in the Mediterranean region, and how can policymakers, researchers, and practitioners work together to implement them?
- How can stakeholders collaborate to address the challenges and gaps in knowledge, research, and innovation for sustainable agrifood systems in the Mediterranean?
Main key messages (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2023). Green Growth: Strategies and Actions to Shift Towards Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean Region.) :
- The Mediterranean region’s population is projected to reach 550 million by 2050, placing further pressure on agrifood systems. Without a shift towards more systemic and holistic approaches that embrace sustainable practices, food may become increasingly expensive and less secure, exacerbating social and economic inequalities, and further damaging the environment.
- Organizational innovations enabling access to knowledge and giving representation to rural and marginalized populations, as well as digital innovations are accelerators for the adoption of sustainable agrifood practices.
- Financial innovation is functional to incentivize sustainable agrifood practices. The example of carbon farming provides a promising business model to incentivize greener agricultural practices, since farmers receive a financial compensation for the adoption of practices that mitigate emissions, improve soil health and protect biodiversity, such as regenerative agriculture.
- The transformation of the agrifood system and its ability to adapt to the challenges posed by the climate and environment crisis and food security threats hinge on securing the necessary finance and fostering a supportive policy environment. Government policies play a pivotal role in attracting sustainable investments by the private sector and financial institutions.
- Research, training, and skills development constitute indispensable tools to engage a young working-age population through new employment and educational opportunities that truly accelerate agrifood systems transformation towards the attainment of green growth.
- Multi-stakeholder platforms are key to promote collaborative and integrated approaches to innovation and research with the aim to achieve the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems.
The recording of the webinar is available at this link: https://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/item/6264/icode/ and the agenda of the webinar is available at this link: https://www.fao.org/3/cc7164en/cc7164en.pdf
The SFS-MED Platform
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) have joined forces in a multi-stakeholder initiative for Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean (SFS-MED Platform), as an affiliated project of the One Planet Network Sustainable Food Systems Programme.
