Image
Under the title “Financing Sustainable Food Systems for SDG Acceleration”, the 7th PAGE-DCO Dialogue explored the critical role of finance in transforming food systems to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Held on 28 May 2025, the dialogue brought together around 100 participants including high-level panelists, UNRCO economists, partnership officers and PAGE country teams to reflect on the opportunities and challenges ahead, building on current global momentum towards food systems transformation.
Co-organized by PAGE and the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO), in collaboration with the UN Food Systems Hub, the dialogue emphasized that transforming food systems through effective financing is vital for building resilience, offering the potential to create millions of rural jobs, lower healthcare expenses, and safeguard biodiversity.
Despite their potential benefits, current food systems are largely misaligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and generate significant hidden costs globally, estimated at 12 trillion dollars annually. They are a major contributor to environmental degradation, accounting for around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of freshwater withdrawals, and a significant share of deforestation. These challenges are compounded by the degradation of the very natural resources these systems rely upon.
The dialogue underlined that while the transformation of food systems offers substantial benefits, including the potential to unlock $4.5 trillion in new business opportunities annually, it is hampered by financial and political barriers. Current funding practices often reinforce industrial, large-scale, export-oriented agriculture, which can lead to negative environmental and social outcomes. Shifting financial flows toward more sustainable practices was identified as a necessary step forward.
Power dynamics are everywhere. If we want to transform finance in the food system, we need to explore who holds the power around finance
To read the full article please head over to its original place of publishing un-page.org