Multisectoral aspirations for food systems governance and the enduring dominance of agriculture

Anna K. Farmery^1*Rebecca Campbell²Andre Flores³Senoveva Mauli³Dori Patay⁴Acacio Sarmento⁵Anja Bless⁶Federico Davila⁷Fiona Berry⁷Alisi Tuqa⁸

• ¹Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
• ²School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
• ³Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁴Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁵WorldFish (Timor-Leste), Dili, Dili, Timor-Leste
• ⁶Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁷Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁸Pacific Community, SPC, Suva, Fiji

Transforming food systems to be healthier, more sustainable and more equitable will require coordinated efforts across diverse sectors. The agricultural sector typically dominates food system governance, potentially risking imbalance in the food systems space and sustaining an emphasis on food availability and agricultural production over more integrated solutions to food system challenges. We examine contemporary food systems governance, with a focus on the UN Food Systems Summit and on the Pacific and East and Southeast Asian regions. We reflect on the implications of agricultural dominance in the food system space and identify opportunities to support multisectoral food system governance to facilitate positive food system change.