The United Nations Food Systems Summit is taking place in less than two weeks and there has been a huge flourish of activity in the build-up to the event. While some of the biggest contributing events included the pre-summit and the science days that took place earlier this year, dialogues within countries and amongst different stakeholders have also been taking place.

The UN Food System Summit will take place on the 23^rd of September 2021 under the leadership of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The summit aims to bring about tangible changes to the worlds food systems through the development of principles that can guide leaders and stakeholders to leverage their food systems to support the Sustainable Development Goals. The summit also aims to raise awareness and improve dialogue about transforming food systems and how this can help us achieve the SDGs. The summit is the first of its kind in terms of the level of engagement with various stakeholders, bring people from all areas of the food system to the table, including leaders of indigenous communities, youth, business leaders and farmers. Furthermore, scientists and researchers have also had an important role to play in contributing robust, evidence-based and scientific approaches to the Summit’s outcomes and commitments. For Professor Sheryl Hendriks from the University of Pretoria, this is a key factor in ensuring food system transformation.

Prof Sheryl Hendriks was not only a member of the Scientific Group but also led Action Track 1: Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all. Prof Hendriks believes that the events that took place in the build-up to the summit have already proven that there is a strong level of commitment to transforming the food system across the world. She points to the message that Peter Baker delivered in his final comments at the Pre-Summit, “change starts with us”, proof of how far we have already come in the conversation around food system transformation. We are not only talking about production and consumption, but we are finally talking about the behavioural changes that all actors in the food system need to make.

When looking at the position of Africa in these dialogues, Prof Hendriks reminds us that Africa is not starting from a blank sheet. Commitments and frameworks such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, have already inspired global commitments. Africa has already earned its position as a leader for food system transformation, evident in the dialogues of the pre-summit. While there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, both in Africa’s food systems and globally, the UN Food System Summit is a major step in getting the work started.

Registrations to join this landmark event are open here. You can also find more information on the UN Food System Summit here, including links to all the events that have already taken place and information about how you can play your role in food systems change.