Identifying and responding to critical challenges to meet future global food and nutrition security.

The Food Futures Research Program is an innovative partnership between ACIAR and IDRC. The program seeks to canvass and support strategic agricultural research that will have a potential breakthrough and/or transformative impact on global food security in the near future.

ACIAR and IDRC have jointly committed A$5 million to the program, which ACIAR is managing on behalf of the partnership. The program has undertaken foresight and impact analysis work to understand prevailing macro and sector trends in food security and identify the major future obstacles and key gaps in research.

During 2020–21, the program will design and commission innovative agricultural research to address identified obstacles to help deliver a sustainable and food and nutrition secure future. Its research will identify and explore new ideas to address the challenge of reducing food loss in low- and lower-middle-income country value chains.

Future of Food Impact Roadmap

In 2019, XPRIZE released the Future of Food Impact Roadmap – a digital report and interactive website that identifies a set of core food system problems and highlights 12 breakthroughs that can establish a more food secure and environmentally sustainable world by 2050.

The Impact Roadmap was created in partnership between ACIAR, IDRC and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research.

Of the many action areas identified, the report calls for action in reducing food loss and waste to help ensure food systems are managed within environmental limits.

Food Loss Research Program

In June 2021, the Food Loss Research Program was launched by ACIAR and IDRC to work with partners in developing countries to address food loss through innovative, locally driven solutions.

A key focus is gaining a deeper understanding of the drivers of food loss on a systemic level. Through its research, the program will uncover new approaches to prevent food loss in developing countries. The program aims to share and extend these learnings to help find more solutions to this global problem.


About ACIAR

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is the Australian Government’s specialist agricultural research-for-development agency within the Australian aid program. The purpose of ACIAR is to contribute to reducing poverty and improving the livelihoods of many in the Indo-Pacific region through more productive and sustainable agriculture emerging from collaborative international research.

About IDRC

As part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts, IDRC champions and funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions to drive global change. They invest in high quality-research in developing countries, share knowledge with researchers and policymakers for greater uptake and use, and mobilise their global alliances to build a more sustainable and inclusive world.
 

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