Overview of the Pre-Summit

Pre-Summit Outcomes and Next Steps

The UN Food Systems Pre-Summit was held 26-28 July in Rome, Italy. It successfully highlighted that transformative investments in food systems will help drive our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and get us back on track to the achieve the SDGs by 2030.

The Pre-Summit acted as a convergence point in the 18 month process, bringing together all work streams around a reaffirmation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the engagement, ideas, and analysis that have come forward from the thousands of people engaged in the Dialogues, Action Tracks, Levers of Change, Scientific Group, and constituency groups. .

The Pre-Summit benefitted from the participation of more than 500 delegates from 108 countries in person, including 62 Ministers.  More than 22,000 people joined as virtual delegates from 183 countries. Among our virtual delegates, we had near gender parity. More than 120 High-level government representatives delivered statements in person or virtually about their national efforts to improve the lives of their people through food

Following the Pre-Summit, preparations began for the Summit in New York, held during the UN General Assembly High-level week. The Summit will be a moment to hear from as many Heads of State and Government, regional groups and leaders as possible on their commitments to take this agenda forward throughout the Decade of Action.

The two months leading to Food systems Summit concentrated on the following deliverables:

1. The Secretary-General’s Statement of Action. This two-page document will urge all Member States and all people to continue the push to 2030 through food systems.
2. A compendium will document the full diverse inputs received throughout the process.
3. The work of the Action Tracks, Levers of change, scientific group will transition to the follow-up and review of the Food Systems Summit at global and country-level. This will be supported by the Rome-based agencies at global level and Resident Coordinators and UN Country-teams at country-level.
4. In organizing the work at global and country-level, the outcomes and priorities of the summit process are being built upon. In Rome the following Coalition themes began to emerge will continue to be shaped and developed:
   • Action for Nutrition and Zero Hunger
   • School Meals
   • Food Loss and Waste
   • Agroecology and Sustainable Livestock and Agriculture Systems
   • Aquatic and Blue Foods
   • Living incomes and Decent Work
   • Resilience
   • Means of implementation – finance, innovation and technology, data, governance

Supporting implementation at country level will not require new structures, but more responsive existing structures. The Rome-based Agencies, FAO, IFAD, WFP are well placed to build on their leadership and continue to act as champions for this effort. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) remains an essential platform for inclusive international and intergovernmental for all stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all.

The success of the process thus far has also been driven by the cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Maintaining this method of working implies a need to ensure a strong system-wide collaboration, especially at country-level and as countries continue to define and implement their pathways.

The remaining period leading to the Summit will be used to further define the global and country-level follow-up. The Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit, Agnes Kalibata, together with the Rome-based Agencies, will further develop the follow-up for the way forward beyond the Summit.

The Food Systems Summit Advisory Committee will meet next week and prior to the Summit in September to provide an additional steer and offer feedback to all the five areas of deliverables outlined above. Another member states briefing will also be held the first week of September, 2021.