Senior Expert Case | Two Experts Shared Vision on Integrated Food Systems Transformation

To transform food systems and ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to healthy food, which has been sustainably produced, the emphasis needs to shift from food production and technology, to the question of what’s needed for consumers to have a healthy diet? This is in complete contrast to how the approach used to be within the food and agriculture sector. An integrated system vision is now required, with more attention than before on managing the food system.

In a nutshell, this is the vision developed by experts Inge Brouwer and Ruerd Ruben in close cooperation with others, which is also supported by the NWO WOTRO Science for Global Development Senior Expert Programme (SEP). During the last three years, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made significant investments into this programme and the knowledge of 17 senior experts. These experts work for five Dutch research institutes and are involved in research programmes delivered through CGIAR, the network of international research institutes in the field of food security. The experts share the knowledge and expertise from their research, whilst developing an umbrella vision which is shared and subsequently used in policy debates and dialogues, which in turn enhances the value of Dutch expertise within the CGIAR research programmes.