In February 2023, the Convene team travelled to Mexico to curate the CGIAR Senior Leadership Team Retreat. On this occasion we also met with Maria Itria Ibba and Francisco Piñera, researchers at CGIAR CIMMYT and emerging thought leaders in the wider food systems transformation space. In this interview, Itria and Francisco reflect on the value of community to achieve collective change, emphasising on the importance of dialogue and communication within and across communities, from lab to field, farm to fork.