Publication explains and exemplifies the concept and importance of adopting an integrated approach in food systems.

On Tuesday, the 22nd, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched the publication “Transforming Food and Agriculture through a Systems Approach”, a report that explains and exemplifies the concept and importance of adopting a systemic approach in food systems. The document cites and recognizes LUPPA – Lab on Urban Food Policies – as one of the reference experiences in urban food policies with an integrated approach. 

Based on practical experiences from different countries and territories, the report reinforces the importance of integrated and intersectoral approaches to address the complex challenges crossing food systems, such as food insecurity, environmental degradation, and social inequality.

The document, which serves as a subsidy for policymakers and professionals committed to the theme, also presents six central elements that, according to the publication, form a concrete structure for integrated action:

• Apply systems thinking;
• Build systemic knowledge;
• Enable systemic governance;
• Integrate actions through systemic practice;
• Ensure systemic investments;
• Promote systemic learning.

The report highlights LUPPA as a reference in the 6th element by recognizing that the program adopts co-learning as a central methodology to drive the development of integrated food policies in participating cities. Carried out by the Comida do Amanhã Institute in partnership with ICLEI South America, the program works with a network of several Brazilian cities supporting the design and strengthening of public policies articulating food, health, environment, culture and social justice.

Juliana Tângari, director of Comida do Amanhã and coordinator of LUPPA, points out that the recognition of the program in the new report values initiatives to transform food policies in Latin America. “Both FAO’s food systems division and the SOFI report have increasingly valued policies that adopt systemic approaches, and LUPPA delivers just that. Our job is to accelerate and leverage the transition of food systems from the local level, connecting actors, territories and public policies that operate in an integrated and long-term way.”

As part of the publication launch, FAO promotes two online events, on September 12 and 15, at 6 am and 10 am, respectively, to present and discuss the main points of the report.

SOFI Report 

The launch of the document also anticipates a broader movement within FAO: on July 28, the new edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 (SOFI), an annual publication that brings together the most up-to-date global data on food and nutrition security, will be released.

In recent years, SOFI has reinforced recommendations that value public policies with a systemic approach, capable of integrating multiple sectors and generating lasting impacts. In this sense, initiatives such as LUPPA are directly aligned with their guidelines and demonstrate, in practice, how urban policies can contribute to transforming food systems in a structuring, coordinated and continuous way. In 2023, SOFI indicated Brazil, through LUPPA, as a model of food labs to achieve SDG 2 – Zero Hunger and Sustainable Agriculture.