The global food system, in its endeavor to feed the enormous population, exerts a significant ecological impact on our planet. The decisions made in this context entail substantial lock-in risks pertaining to infrastructure, land tenure and use. These issues originate from a decentralized and complex pattern of food production, which involves several producers operating within diverse land use systems. It happens in a village mosaic governed under a tenure continuum influenced by local biophysical, socioeconomic, historical and cultural factors. Thus the significance of local stakeholders in developing sustainable solutions in alignment with national interests and sovereignty cannot be undermined. Recent studies have shown that dietary shifts, crop and livestock intensification, water use efficiency, lower fertilizer use and technological change can reduce emissions from farming, increase farmer profitability and make the agrifood systems more sustainable – thereby, creating a win-win situation. However, these invariably depend upon how policy, institutions and property rights systems shape up to promote inclusion and convergence at all stages of the transformation.

With an aim to assist the sustainable transitions of the agrifood system in India and the global south the Food, Land, Agriculture, Climate Change, Institutions and People (FLAGCCIP) Forum seeks to establish meaningful and purposeful discourses between policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, action groups, civil society, and farmers. Working in close collaboration with the global Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use, and Energy (FABLE) consortium and partners such as Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), FLAGCCIP’s objective is to employ integrated modelling and data synchronization as a science-based strategy to create country-specific pathways that are informed by and adaptive of local cultures and contexts. The Centre for Land Governance (CLG) thrives to enrich India’s land governance ecosystem with actors, information and innovations to trigger inclusive land tenure security and sustainable development. It engages with inter-disciplinary issues around land tenure, focusing on informalities in rural, forested and urban landscapes and assessing institutional, technology and data options, with policy, practice and research actors, locally and globally. To discuss the challenges – and collate actionable solutions – on diverse aspects for attaining a sustainable food and land use alliance and future for India and the global south, the FLAGCCIP team and CLG have joined hands to host the 3rd event of the India Land and Development Conference (ILDC) Workshop Series on ‘Inclusion and Convergence for a Sustainable Food and Land Use Future’. The aim is to identify the inclusion challenges, gaps in policy convergence and need for capacity building in attaining sustainable food and land use transitions as well as convergence and collaborative opportunities.

ILDC over the last six years, has built a unique convergent platform for inclusive, inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral conversation among land actors – global and local. It has been impactful in expanding land ecosystem, in terms of knowledge exchange, actor involvements, partnership building, informed engagements and sectoral enrichments. Yet, gaps remain, around in-depth and nuanced engagements on specific or inter-disciplinary topics of contemporary importance (to
India and global south) and in terms of potential solutions or way forward. The 1st ILDC workshop was organized at FLAME University, Pune during 27-28 March 2023 on the topic ‘Land Administration Innovation through Technology and Structural Reform – Policy and Practice Implications and Impact.’ The 2nd Workshop was on ‘Land Tenure and Climate Change Action: Connections & Implications’ at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru on 8th July 2023. This current workshop is the 3rd in this series towards sustained dialogues for bridging the gaps in achieving sustainable and equitable food and land systems