The 11th Annual Meeting of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition

The 11th Annual Meeting of the Global Panel was held on 17th February, 2025, focussing on the impact of the Building Resilience and Enhancing Nutrition in Africa’s Food Systems report and the importance of continued advocacy for food system resilience.

Chair, Sir John Beddington, opened the meeting by welcoming members and congratulated colleagues on a productive and challenging period, since the previous meeting. The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted, and past actions reviewed.

At the meeting, the Resilience Project was discussed in detail, highlighting its successful launch webinar (over 150 attendees), with a further event at the House of Lords. Attendees also discussed successful international engagement on this project at the African Food Systems Forum, 52nd Committee on World Food Security and with the Tony Blair Institute.  The project has also resulted in published works, including a joint brief with United Against Malnutrition and Hunger (UAMH) and an article in The Conversation.

Attendees discussed how best to engage with the Kampala Declaration, emphasising resilience, nutrition, trade, financing, and the changing global economic landscape. The Report’s focus on resilience and the need to balance political and economic costs with long-term benefits could be very helpful here. Attendees also highlighted the need for policy alignment, resource mobilisation, and potential collaborations, including engagement with the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.

It was noted that the report had already resulted in action, with its recommendations supporting Sierra Leone’s Feed Salone Programme, which focusses on climate resilience, nutrition, and economic frameworks.

The meeting was attended by Global Panel Members and Representatives

• Sir John Beddington Chair of the Global Panel and Meeting Chair; Senior Fellow to the Oxford Martin School and Professor of Natural Resource Management at Oxford University
• Dr Celso Moretti, Global Panel member; CEO, Ceres, and Immediate Past President of EMBRAPA
• Emmy Simmons, Global Panel member; Senior Advisor, non-resident, to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Global Food Security Project
• E. Rhoda Tumusiime, Global Panel member; Former Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission
• Thule Lenneiye (Representative for Dr Agnes Kalibata, Global Panel member, Chief of Staff, AGRA
• Tom Owiyo (Representative for Dr Akinwumi Adesina, Global Panel member), African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Maximo Torero (Representative for Dr Qu Dongyu, Global Panel member), Chief Economist and Assistant Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)
• Maria Jose Amstalden Moraes Sampaio, (Representative for Dr Silvia Massruha, Global Panel member), EMBRAPA
• Dr Marilia Nuti, (Representative for Dr Silvia Massruha, Global Panel member), EMBRAPA
• Dr Marcel Morandi, (Representative for Dr Silvia Massruha, Global Panel member), EMBRAPA

Accompanied by External attendees

• Prof Patrick Webb, Chief Nutritionist, USAID
• Prof Andy Dougill, International Expert of the Lead Expert Group (Resilience project), University of York (for item 3)
• Dr Patrick Kormawa, Representative for Sierra Leone on the Lead Expert Group (Resilience project), Director of Food Security and Climate-Smart Agricultural Transformation, Sierra Leone (for item 3)