This comprehensive report provides an overview of the objectives, speakers, and outcomes of each session of the second edition of the FAO Science and Innovation Forum (SIF) 2023. The SIF, a pivotal component of the annual flagship World Food Forum, unfolded from 18 to 20 October 2023 at FAO headquarters. Centered around the theme of leveraging science and innovation for the transformative enhancement of agrifood systems in the context of climate action, the Forum fostered discussions aimed at identifying concrete actions. It served as a platform for strategic deliberations on the nuanced ways in which science, technology, and innovation contribute to vulnerability, impact, and capacities, crucial for reshaping agrifood systems and bolstering climate action. Noteworthy attendance marked the event, with a total of 8 967 registrants, comprising 4 000 in-person participants and 7 153 virtual attendees representing diverse global backgrounds. The Forum featured the insights and perspectives of nearly 150 speakers drawn from academia, research, business, government, non-governmental organizations, farmers' organizations, young entrepreneurs, and Indigenous Peoples. These experts actively contributed to the discourse through engaging roundtables and panel discussions.

Throughout the Year of Excellence 2023, Digital FAO has redoubled its efforts to upscale the Organization's digital capabilities, capacity -building and advisory services needed to enable and accelerate targeted interventions with actionable and concrete results worldwide, leaving no one behind. Digital technology is at the nexus of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the eradication of poverty, climate action and environmental protection, ending hunger, and improving nutrition and access to healthy diets. In this light, this publication highlights FAO strong digital cooperation, as well as the significant developments in the technology domain, with further acceleration of digital transformation globally, including a strong focus on agrifood systems. It aims to provide further insights into the strategic direction, achievements and efforts of Digital FAO, with the overall objective to achieve FAO four betters and the Sustainable Development Goals at their largest.

Digital capabilities can help to meet future demand for safe and nutritious food, better manage natural resources and contribute to high-quality growth in productivity and in the economy. They are already the driving force behind the profound transformation of our agrifood systems and the emergence of a new vision of agriculture. 2022 has been another exceptional year of Digital Transformation in Action for FAO, further accelerated by the strong momentum achieved and with strong organizational support. The aim of this report is to provide a comprehensive overview of the key achievements related to FAO’s Digital for Impact throughout the year and to introduce the Organization's next stages in the digital journey as we look forward to next year, the year of excellence and more.

Bioeconomy is credited as being one of the key pillars for the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031 to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. [Author] More than 60 countries and regions have a dedicated bioeconomy or bioscience strategy today, and many more are already implementing the bioeconomy with plans and programmes, often also attempting to monitor and evaluate the progress towards the transition. [Author] Moreover, where trade-offs exist between different sustainability objectives, the bioeconomy offers an opportunity to realign the economy with the biosphere and account for the trade-offs in a holistic way. [Author] This toolbox provides a methodology to guide the development of bioeconomy strategies, and other elements to support its deployment, from dedicated governance systems, to monitoring frameworks to action on the ground. [Author] Many of the examples in this toolbox refer to knowledge gained through FAO experience, while being forward-looking and designed to help more countries and regions embark on or continue their journey towards building a sustainable bioeconomy. [Author] This aligns with FAO’s strategic mission over the next decade; FAO is the first United Nations entity to elevate bioeconomy to a corporate priority, including it as one of 20 programme priority areas under its Strategic Framework 2022–2031. [Author] This reflects the growing role that FAO sees for bioeconomy as a driver of sustainable agrifood systems transformation over the next decade. [Author]

Understanding the capacity of food systems to undertake a transformation towards sustainability requires understanding how resources stream in and out of the systems. As complex socio-economic structures, food and agricultural value chains are important means for channeling resources, knowledge, and agency in and out of rural areas. Given their prominent role on the development agendas, there is mixed evidence as to what extent value chains and their actors can contribute to improving the livelihoods in poor rural and urban areas. In order to shape sustainable living places, transformative capacities and good governance are important mainstays. Transformative agri-food value chains are robust and often act as the sole transmission belt for returning capital, resources and identity back into vulnerable areas. Moreover, domestic or regional chains may provide urban consumers with fresh quality food that also contributes to regional identity.

This report summarizes the activities and results achieved in 2022 by the 26 experts of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP). OHHLEP provided scientific advice on the Quadripartite One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) which was launched in October 2022, worked on a One Health Theory of Change that became an integral part of the OH JPA, prepared scientific opinions related to the envisaged Pandemic Instrument, and developed a white paper on the definition for the Prevention of zoonotic spillover. OHHLEP also continued to support the implementation of the Quadripartite OH JPA through development of an inventory of One Health tools. With these activities, OHHLEP supported the Quadripartite’s efforts on the mainstreaming and implementation of One Health. The report highlights main outputs and deliverables produced over the period and outlines priorities for 2023.