A typology for agrifood systems

Arslan, A.; Cattaneo, A.; Benitez Humanes, M.; McMenomy, T.; Ranuzzi, E.; Sadiddin, A.;

A typology for agrifood systems

Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2024

Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 26 p.

Author Arslan, A.; Cattaneo, A.; Benitez Humanes, M.; McMenomy, T.; Ranuzzi, E.; Sadiddin, A.;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-139290-4

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) This document introduces a new agrifood systems typology developed for The State of Food and Agriculture 2024 based on the typology developed by Marshall et al. (2021). It aims to categorize countries based on multiple dimensions of their agrifood systems, offering a valuable complement to context-specific analyses. The typology helps policymakers identify effective policy levers for transforming agrifood systems to deliver nutritious, sustainable diets globally. Agrifood systems are complex, encompassing the entire journey of food from production to consumption. These systems interact dynamically with natural, human, social, and environmental factors. They also face increasing environmental pressures, exacerbated by climate change, which disproportionately affect vulnerable rural communities. Agrifood systems play a crucial role in addressing these challenges and are central to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A holistic understanding of these systems is essential for designing policies that drive sustainable transformation. To manage this complexity, typologies have been developed to classify agrifood systems based on economic, political, institutional, and geographical structures. By reducing complexity into identifiable characteristics, typologies help identify commonalities and distinctions across countries, providing a structured approach to policy discussions.

Background paper to the FAO flagship The State of Food and Agriculture 2024 – Value-driven transformation of agrifood systems

Cite this content as:

Arslan, A., Cattaneo, A., Benitez Humanes, M., McMenomy, T., Ranuzzi, E. & Sadiddin, A. 2024. A typology for agrifood systems – Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2024. Rome, FAO.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cd2991en

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Language English

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