This report examines the factors that energize or restrict debates on food systems in Colombia in the context of the multi-stakeholder conversations between the Government, rural organizations, agribusiness and academia. To answer the question, we address two main aspects. First, we analyse the perceptions of various stakeholders about food systems in the country, based on a workshop carried out in February 2024 and focusing on priority issues such as hunger and malnutrition, deforestation and biodiversity loss, the effects of climate change, and inequality. Second, we discuss the competition or complementarity of various axes at the centre of food systems discussions: large-scale agriculture and family farming, native seeds and genetically modified seeds, and local food systems and international trade. The report concludes by drawing attention to the challenges of public policy coordination, information gaps, and the great diversity of actors, visions, and values in the discussions.

In October 2024, TABLE brought together a diverse range of stakeholders across the food system with the aim of exploring how they envisaged a better food future, and what system transformations would be needed to get there. The participants included non-governmental and civil society organisations, policymakers, philanthropists, community leaders, and academics from diverse disciplines. Over the course of the workshop, they together discussed, developed and refined different visions for the future of the food system based on three initially conceived visions: market-led, state-led, and bottom-up. This report synthesises the workshop methods and dialogue process, the discussions participants had and the areas of agreement that emerged. https://www.doi.org/10.56661/421fa6df