FAO and Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley strengthen partnership to foster innovation in agrifood systems

A Letter of Intent between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley (SFNV) will lay strong foundations for an impactful partnership to scale innovative solutions and drive agrifood systems transformation.

23 August 2024, Vaud – The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, the President of SFNV’s Steering Committee, Marie-France Tschudin, and SFNV’s Chief Executive Officer, Christina Senn-Jakobsen, signed a Letter of Intent to create mechanisms to develop innovative solutions to address the root causes and mitigate the consequences of agrifood systems challenges that currently constrain progress. 

Switzerland’s thriving food ecosystem is developing a wealth of innovations to tackle some of the most pressing global food challenges. FAO and SFNV will establish a closer collaboration in the areas of innovation, healthy diets and nutrition.

The new FAO-SFNV collaboration will focus on:

1. Innovative solutions
Creating a mechanism to identify, develop, refine, and scale innovative solutions in agrifood systems to contribute to healthy diets and nutrition.

2. Addressing healthy diets and nutrition
Targeting issues related to healthy diets for all, nutrition for the most vulnerable, safe food for everyone, and reducing food loss and waste.

3. Leveraging Swiss leadership
Drawing on Switzerland’s strengths in science, technology, innovation business and sustainability to cultivate impactful and scalable solutions for agrifood systems.

4. Promoting inclusivity
Introducing solutions that can be implemented in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, benefiting marginalised groups including family farmers, cooperatives, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the development, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said “We are excited to embark on this collaboration with the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley as it is an important partnership for us as we work together to ensure healthy diets and nutrition for all. By collaborating and leveraging innovative solutions and Swiss expertise, we can be more optimistic about some of the most pressing challenges currently facing global agrifood systems.”

President of the SFNV Steering Committee, Marie-France Tschudin added “To future-proof our food systems, close collaboration between national and international actors is essential. Partnering with FAO will allow us to build bridges and scale solutions that not only tackle global nutrition challenges but also support sustainable development and inclusivity across diverse communities worldwide.”

The Letter of Intent was signed at an event held at Agropole at Molondin, a Vaud-based campus dedicated to shaping the future of food. QU Dongyu, the FAO delegation and colleagues from Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture exchanged with three leading Swiss startups and SFNV Valley partners – CleanGreens Solutions, Vivent Biosignals and Ecorobotix – and received first-hand experience of some Swiss innovative solutions.

About FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations leading international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. FAO’s goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members – 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. The FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, located in the Palais des Nations, is working with Swiss-based partners to achieve FAO’s corporate goal and the wider Sustainable Development Agenda.

Find out more: https://www.fao.org/home/en

About Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley

Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley (SFNV) is a not-for-profit association founded in 2020 that strengthens and promotes food system innovation, both within Switzerland and across the globe. Our diverse network of 150 Valley partners – from global companies, universities, innovation accelerators to government bodies, SMEs and startups – collaborate to address the most pressing challenges in food, agriculture and nutrition, and co-create innovative solutions that drive better planetary and human health.

For more information, interviews or additional photos, contact Laura Robinson, SFNV’s Head of Communications at news@sfnv.ch. 

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