The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has reaffirmed its commitment to driving sustainable transformations in global food systems during the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa. The event brought together government representatives, international organizations, and industry leaders to discuss solutions for food security, nutrition, and economic development.
UNIDO emphasized the importance of industrial innovation, value addition, better market access, and reducing post-harvest losses as critical steps toward strengthening food security and nutrition worldwide. Representatives highlighted the need for targeted and practical approaches to achieve global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support economic growth, particularly in the face of climate challenges. UNIDO’s work is focused on mobilizing blended finance and enabling countries to adopt innovative methods that can transform their food systems in alignment with the 2030 Agenda.
A key highlight of the summit was the official launch of the UNIDO Food Loss and Waste Action Plan. This initiative aims to tackle the widespread issue of food loss and waste, which undermines food security and economic inclusion for millions of people each year. By addressing infrastructure gaps, investment shortages, and the need for innovation, UNIDO’s plan offers scalable strategies to reduce food waste across supply chains. The initiative also supports priorities set out in the Addis Ababa Call to Action from the World Without Hunger Conference, reaffirming UNIDO’s leadership in food systems transformation through technical expertise, catalytic finance, and strong public-private partnerships.
Throughout the summit, UNIDO organized high-level discussions on topics such as improving the coffee value chain and supporting smallholder farmers and agrifood businesses. In partnership with Ethiopia, Italy, and organizations like the International Coffee Organization and the Inter-African Coffee Organization, UNIDO showcased its Advancing Climate-resilience and Transformation in African Coffee Programme. This program focuses on increasing productivity, encouraging local value addition, and attracting private sector investment to the coffee sector in Africa, supporting broader initiatives like the Mattei Plan for Africa.
UNIDO also contributed to dialogues on making food systems more resilient, fostering partnerships for climate-smart agricultural investments, and developing new financial models for smallholder farmers and small to medium enterprises. Discussions included the promotion of integrated agro-food parks and seaweed aquaculture as transformative models to link farmers and SMEs to value chains and investment opportunities.
The UNFSS+4 event was co-hosted by the governments of Ethiopia and Italy and attracted more than 3,500 participants, including national delegations and non-state actors. The closing sessions focused on consolidating global priorities into actionable national plans and identifying key drivers of progress toward reaching the 2030 SDG targets.
