The 2025 Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) Science Summit, held at the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi, brought together global experts to discuss solutions to the growing concerns of food security amidst climate change. The summit took place against a backdrop of increasing global hunger, with recent UN reports highlighting that climate-related disruptions to food systems now affect over 800 million people worldwide.
Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, opened the summit by emphasizing the urgency of addressing the agriculture sector’s vulnerabilities. Mudavadi noted that agriculture is under threat from shifting climate patterns, pollution, and land degradation. However, he expressed optimism that with the right strategies, the crisis could be turned around. He called for approaches that balance agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability, an urgent need in the face of climate challenges.
The summit highlighted agriculture’s significant role in both contributing to and being affected by climate change. Agriculture is responsible for about 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), while also being among the sectors most vulnerable to climate impacts. The global discussions revolved around whether conventional agricultural models can be reformed or need to be entirely reimagined to ensure food security in the long term.
Zainab Hawa, director-general of the UN in Nairobi, underscored the city’s importance as a hub for international collaboration on these issues. However, some critics pointed out that past meetings of similar nature have often resulted in more rhetoric than tangible action. Hawa stressed the need to address the complex relationship between agricultural practices and climate change, noting that the scientific understanding of these impacts has long existed but lacked sufficient policy attention.
Ismahane Elouafi, the executive managing director of CGIAR, introduced the organization’s 2025–2030 Research Portfolio, emphasizing inclusive agricultural innovation. Elouafi called for “building bridges, not walls,” as CGIAR works to address the challenges of food insecurity and climate resilience. The new research priorities seek to build on earlier work but depend heavily on securing consistent funding and overcoming political obstacles.
Discussions also focused on regional perspectives, with Mudavadi highlighting Kenya’s initiatives in climate-smart agriculture. Kenya’s government is collaborating with research organizations to develop farming techniques that aim to boost yields while minimizing environmental impacts. Mudavadi spoke about innovations that are helping local communities adapt to climate challenges, reduce emissions, and enhance food security. However, concerns were raised by farmers’ representatives about whether such technologies would be accessible to smallholder farmers, who represent a large portion of the agricultural workforce, especially in developing regions.
The summit also featured success stories from across the globe, including regenerative farming practices that improve soil health, agroforestry systems that protect biodiversity, and water management techniques that help communities withstand droughts. These approaches have demonstrated potential in enhancing sustainability, but scaling them up requires overcoming significant economic and political barriers. Notably, subsidies that favor conventional, input-intensive agriculture often undermine efforts to promote more sustainable practices.
Workshops at the summit explored a range of topics, from precision agriculture technologies to indigenous knowledge systems. There was a strong focus on developing agricultural value chains that better compensate farmers for adopting sustainable practices. Civil society representatives pointed out that technological solutions alone would not be sufficient. Addressing systemic power imbalances in food systems and ensuring smallholder farmers’ access to land rights and markets are crucial for long-term success.
As the summit progresses, there is growing pressure to move beyond theoretical discussions and towards practical implementation strategies. Despite ambitious declarations in past international summits, follow-through has been inconsistent, often due to insufficient funding and shifting political priorities. Agricultural experts at the summit acknowledged the challenges of navigating trade-offs between short-term productivity and long-term sustainability, local food sovereignty and global market integration, as well as traditional practices versus new technologies. The central challenge remains ensuring that these solutions are equitably distributed, benefiting all farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
The Nairobi summit is yet another effort to align global action on sustainable agriculture amidst accelerating climate impacts. Whether it will lead to meaningful change or be remembered as another failed initiative will be determined by how effectively its discussions are translated into action. For the millions of farmers already facing the consequences of climate disruptions, the urgency of finding solutions could not be greater.
