The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is set to convene an Independent Dialogue in support of the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit 2021. To be held virtually on 18 May 2021, the dialogue is titled “Breaking Silos: Transforming Agricultural Education and Research toward Sustainable Food Systems in Southeast Asia.”
Seeing that the transformation of food systems is central to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN will convene a Food Systems Summit in September 2021 to help establish the future direction for food systems and accelerate collective action toward this end.
The Independent Dialogue hosted by SEARCA will discuss transformations needed in education and research for higher education institutions in the region to achieve the desired goals.
SEARCA will bring together participants from the academe, government, agro-industry, farmer groups, and the youth sector to draw out new knowledge, research findings, and policies in higher education that are needed in the next decade.
The dialogue will also discuss innovative pedagogies and methodologies for more effective dissemination of research results to a wider audience with the end view of inspiring transformations.
SEARCA also intends to elicit from the dialogue a suite of recommendations on governance strategies and policies as well as strategic alliances needed to ensure a more holistic approach to research and higher education on food systems.
“Contributing to the UN Food Systems Summit through this Independent Dialogue—which provides an opportunity to ambitious new actions, innovative solutions, and plans to transform our food systems and leverage these shifts to deliver progress across the SDGs—is also a step towards realizing SEARCA’s current five-year plan focused on “Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation (ATTAIN),” said Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director and UN Food Systems Champion.