A new report from the Food Systems Countdown to 2030 Initiative (FSCI) has urged those involved in the agriculture and food industries to better utilise data in order to reduce environmental impact and mitigate the impact of climate change.
The report, The state of food systems worldwide in the countdown to 2030, is described as the ‘first science-based monitoring’ tool to enable decision-makers to transform global agriculture and food systems.
It was developed in response to findings that policymakers often lack the data required to drive critical decisions.
Indicator framework
The FSCI has attempted to fill that gap, having identified an indicator framework composed of 50 indicators that monitor agriculture and food systems at a global level, using existing data to enable immediate action.
‘Repurposing existing data, rather than carrying out time-consuming new research, means policymakers have quick access to relevant information,’ it said.
Following this first ‘global baseline’, the FSCI will track agriculture and food systems annually until 2030, updating the framework as needed where new indicators or better data emerge.
‘No region has all the answers’
“The first annual Countdown report shows that no single region has all the answers. Europe and North America do well on undernutrition but poorly on indicators of unhealthy diets,” commented Lawrence Haddad, executive director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
“In contrast, Africa and South Asia do relatively well on some environmental indicators but poorly on indicators of livelihoods. The data show very clearly that every region has significant room for improvement.”
Customised monitoring
The FSCI indicator framework is also designed to inform customised monitoring systems to align with the specific needs of individual countries.
“Better data is urgently needed to monitor progress in food safety, off-farm livelihoods tied to agriculture and food systems, food loss and waste, agriculture and food systems’ economic contributions, governance, and agriculture and food system resilience,” commented Kate Schneider, research scholar, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and lead author of the paper.
