October 31, 2024
FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero opens VACS side event at Borlaug Dialogue World Food Prize 2024.
Borlaug Dialogue World Food Prize 2024
The Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils: Advancing the Global Movement in partnership with the VACS Partnership
Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Fowler and Dr. Geoffrey Hawtin for receiving the 2024 World Food Prize. It is an honor, on behalf of the FAO Director-General, to warmly welcome you to this breakout session on "The Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils: Advancing the Global Movement."
Two years ago, FAO was thrilled when Dr. Cary Fowler approached us with the idea of creating a global vision with partners to develop resilient agrifood systems based on diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops grown in healthy, fertile soils.
Originally launched by the U.S. Department of State, the African Union (AU), and FAO, VACS (Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils) aims to enhance agricultural productivity and nutrition by promoting access to diverse, climate-resilient crop varieties grown in healthy soils. VACS provides a unified framework for investments to achieve these goals.
FAO’s involvement in VACS aligns directly with its Strategic Framework 2022-31, addressing nutrition, climate change, and soil management. It also offers FAO member nations and development partners, particularly in Africa, an innovative approach to transforming agrifood systems and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
By collaborating with CGIAR and CIMMYT, we combine our strengths to advance the global VACS vision, expanding its impact across a wide range of public and private stakeholders. This partnership brings together all our comparative advantages.
Colleagues, investing in agricultural research, innovation, and enabling policies is crucial. Technology and smart policies drive productivity growth and are essential for transitioning to sustainable food systems.
However, our overreliance on a few staple crops makes us vulnerable, especially as extreme weather and land degradation threaten food security. VACS addresses this by promoting Indigenous and Traditional Food Crops (ITFCs), or what we call "opportunity crops." These crops, though underfunded in research, are highly nutritious, adaptable to local conditions, and often grown by women, contributing to both household nutrition and economic security.
Under VACS, we aim to accelerate plant breeding, enhance value chains, and increase consumer demand for these opportunity crops, ultimately leading to more diverse diets and better nutrition outcomes. But to fully succeed, we must also address soil health. Reversing soil degradation through improved knowledge and sustainable practices is essential for increasing the efficiency and resilience of crop systems in the face of climate change.
VACS embodies the four pillars of FAO’s Strategic Framework: better production, better nutrition, better environment, and better life for all. Together, we will achieve more productive crops, improved nutrition, reduced land degradation, greater climate resilience, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Allow me to share some key milestones:
In July, FAO and CGIAR/CIMMYT signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate and strengthen the VACS movement. Today's event is supported by this partnership.
We have developed a VACS Theory of Change alongside partners such as CIMMYT, IFAD, and the Crop Trust. This outlines the necessary actions to build resilient agrifood systems and healthier diets through targeted work on soils, seeds, policies, and market development.
We’ve compiled nutrient data and contributed to crop-climate modeling to identify promising opportunity crops in five regions of Africa.
With support from the United States and Japan, FAO is implementing the "Soil Mapping for Resilient Agrifood Systems" (SoilFER) project in seven countries, focusing on building comprehensive National Soil Information Systems to guide policy and field-level soil management.
We are working on enabling policies and how to create the demand needed for these crops.
VACS offers an impactful framework for action and impact.
Last week, the G7 Development Ministers expressed support for VACS, committing to international collaboration to promote diverse, nutritious crops, sustainable soil use, and plant genetic resource conservation.
We are now ready to unite our efforts to enhance production, demand, and enabling factors in each country, making the vision of resilient agrifood systems based on climate-adapted crops a reality.
It is my great privilege to open this event. I extend my deep thanks to the VACS Community of Practice and the working group chairs whose expertise has enriched today’s discussions. Your voluntary participation reflects widespread belief in the VACS vision.
I speak on behalf of all VACS implementers when I say we are excited to be here today, to learn from your insights, and to make this vision a reality.
Dear colleagues, let's work together for good food for all, for today and tomorrow!
Thank you.
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