CGIAR Food Frontiers & Security Program
Program/accelerator:

Food Frontiers and Security

We will focus on three food systems of growing importance: fragile and conflict-affected food systems, urban and peri-urban food systems, and island food systems.

These systems are highly vulnerable to shocks and crises, marked by large youth populations, isolation with limited and resource-scarce food value chains, significant food and water insecurity, widespread malnutrition, and severe environmental threats and degradation. There is weak governance across these systems, and new solutions and investments must be catalyzed to support the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Our work aims to help with

  • Creating 20 new policies or investments
  • Building capacity for food systems actors in 25 countries
  • Encouraging adoption of 50 new food systems innovations

Where we will work in

Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Timor-Leste

Challenges we’ll address

  • 1.5 billion individuals from fragile and conflict-affected areas are disproportionately impacted by poverty and food insecurity
  • Rapidly growing urban areas struggle with high unemployment, dietary shifts, climate risks, and environmental pollution
  • Island nations face rising sea levels, limited resources, malnutrition, and non-communicable diseases

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Areas of Work

  • Future Food Systems Lab
    We will create spaces for innovation, rigorous research and learning, and foresight analysis to tackle the complex, intersecting challenges faced by these fragile food systems – collaborating with local partners, government agencies, and the private sector to integrate local knowledge with scientific research.
  • Fragile and Conflict-affected Food Systems
    We aim to enhance preparedness, response, and recovery in fragile and conflict-affected food systems by addressing compound crises. It provides actionable evidence for conflict-sensitive, inclusive strategies, aligns humanitarian responses with long-term development goals, builds resilience, promotes gender equality, and supports effective program design. The goal is to guide partners in creating timely, sustainable, and impactful interventions before, during, and after crises.
  • Urban Food Systems
    We will empower city governments and partners to strengthen urban food systems. Initiatives will improve organic waste recycling, ensure safe wastewater reuse, boost food safety, create youth employment, and expand access to fresh, safe, nutritious, and affordable food especially in low-income areas.
  • Island Food Systems
    We will guide national programs in island contexts to foster sustainable food systems, climate resilience, and healthier diets. Through co-designed innovations, resilient production methods, and inclusive platforms, communities will develop more resilient food production systems, safer aquatic food distribution practices, and increased access to nutritious foods including indigenous foods. This effort addresses malnutrition, climate change, youth unemployment, and environmental challenges in coastal and marine contexts, transforming island food systems and providing models for global resilience and sustainability.

Gender Equality & Social Inclusion

We will enhance gender equality in frontier geographies by empowering women and youth, supporting livelihoods in crisis-prone settings, and addressing urban and island challenges. It builds our and our partner’s expertise in measuring empowerment, strengthens partner programs, and promotes inclusive policies for improved food security and resilience in vulnerable food systems.

Our Approach

Interlinked support across CGIAR’s portfolio
We will work closely with the Better Diets and Nutrition, Climate Action, Multifunctional Landscapes, Policy Innovations, Scaling for Impact programs, and the Capacity Sharing, Digital Transformation, and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion accelerators.

Working to share our capacity with

  • government partners, policy think tanks, NGOs, UN agencies
  • research & advocacy networks
  • local communities

Built on CGIAR’s proven expertise

  • Strong partnerships with international universities and research institutes bring cutting-edge methodologies and discoveries
  • Long-term relationships with local stakeholders underpinned by a physical presence in many countries
  • Excellent laboratory facilities for advanced scientific and technical research


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