Caption
10 March 2022, Dhaka, Bangladesh - (Composite photo from left): Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, Chairperson; FAO Director-General QU Dongyu; Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist (FAO); Jong-Jin Kim, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific; Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Minister of Agriculture of Sri Lanka; Honorable minister of Livestock of Bangladesh SM Rezaul Karim; Representaitve of Mongolia; Su McClusky, Special representative for Australian Agriculture; Yeshey Penjor, Minister of Agriculture and Forest of Bhutan; Sakhon Veng, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia; Ma Youxiang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China; Fiji Minister of Agriculture representative; India Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar; Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Minister of Agriculture, Republic of Indonesia; Rasoul Zare, Iranian Permanent Representative at FAO; Japan representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Representative of the Republic of Kiribati; Representative of Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; YB Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee, Minister of Agriculture and food Industries of Malaysia; Representative of the Ministry of Fisheries Marine Resources and Agriculture of Maldives; Representative of the Republic of Nauru; Mahindra Ray Yadav, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development of Napal; Damien O'Connor, Minister of Agriculture of New Zealand; Esa Sharon Mona Ainuu, Minister to the Department of Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Niue; Steven Victor, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment at Palau National Government; Wlliam Dar, Secretary of Agriculture of the Philippines; Kim Jong-hoon, Vice Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea; Victor Vasiliev, FAO Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation; Representative of Samoa; Lim Kok Thai, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Food Agency; Representative of Papua Nuova Guinea; Dickson Mua Panakitasi, Minister for Forestry and Research of Solomon Islands: Thanawat Tiensin, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Thailand to FAO; Representative of the Kingdom of Tonga; Kausea Natano, Prime Minister of Tuvalu; Tuan Nguyen Do Anh from Vietnam. Special Event on Innovation, Science and Digitalization: Transforming Agrifood Systems in the Asia and Pacific Region. FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, 36th Session (APRC 36).
Background information
A wide range of approaches, technologies and practices exist to tackle agrifood systems challenges. Science and innovation - including indigenous and local knowledge - underpin them all and are an essential part of assessing risks, identifying trade-offs and finding solutions to complex problems. The landscape of science and innovation is changing rapidly with amplification of biotechnologies, digital tools, nanotechnology, big data, and artificial intelligence. Public-private partnerships are on the rise. The importance of the participation of a range of actors in agricultural innovation systems is increasingly recognized to co-create knowledge and strengthen capacities. The FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 recognizes that innovation across agrifood systems is key to achieve the SDGs and the Organization's first Science and Innovation Strategy is being formulated. The special event on 'Innovation, Science and Digitalization: Accelerators for Transformative Change in Asia and the Pacific region' will delve into the topics that the Strategy will have to tackle. It will discuss, among others, on trengthening the lab-to-land link and technology transfer; reinforcing the science-policy
interface to ensure the development of evidence-based strategies; governance and regulatory issues; inter- and trans-disciplinary research; and contentious scientific issues, including prevailing power asymmetries and socioeconomic inequalities that affect science and innovation. FAO is uniquely placed to support its Members in strengthening national policy frameworks for enhanced science and innovation and identifying research priorities and communicating them to the major research institutions.
