Food Systems 2050: Navigating the Future

The world in which food systems operate is changing rapidly. Climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pressures, demographic shifts, changing diets, new technologies, economic developments and geopolitics are reshaping both the challenges we face and the ways we respond to them. But what could these changes mean for food systems in low- and middle-income countries towards 2050? And what do they ask of the Netherlands and its international partners today?

On Thursday, 5 November 2026, the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, CGIAR and WUR , invites you to a forward-looking dialogue on exactly these questions. The dialogue is organized as part of the NL-CGIAR Strategic Partnership.

About the programme 

Recent foresight research from CGIAR/IFPRI and Wageningen University & Research gives us an opportunity to look beyond immediate challenges and explore different possible futures of food systems, as well as their impact on both people and the planet. Together with researchers and experts, we will examine emerging trends and uncertainties and ask what they could mean for Dutch international cooperation on food systems, including our knowledge and capabilities, partnerships, policy and investment. 

A conversation across perspectives 

We invite our partners from across research & education, policy, business & finance and civil society to share their perspectives, challenge assumptions and explore what different futures could mean for the choices we make today. This session is the first in a series of NFP conversations on navigating the future of food systems. The insights and questions raised on 5 November will help shape the topics and format of the sessions that follow.

We hope you will join us to look ahead, exchange perspectives and help navigate what comes next.

A related conversation

Also on 5 November, from 12:30 - 14:30 CET at the same venue, NFP will host a complimentary invitation only dialogue on the impact of the Strait of Hormuz and El Niño crises on global food security. We ask you to send an email to Hector Lopez if you would like to request an invitation to attend this event as well. Please note that seats are limited. [email protected]