Third International Conference on Financing for Development
“Financing Investments and Agribusiness for Food and Nutrition Security: Public and Private Sector Coordination”

14th July 2015, 13:15 – 14:45

Room Jupiter Hotel, Conference Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Group – UNFAO – CTA

*** Follow the debate live #Fin4Ag***

On the sidelines of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development – on 14th July, from 13:15 – 14:45, in the Jupiter Hotel Conference Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – CTA co-organised the “Financing Investments and Agribusiness for Food and Nutrition Security: Public and Private Sector Coordination” high-level panel with the ACP and UNFAO. The panel discussed the importance of private and public sector investments in the agrifood sector, which benefit small-scale farmers, SMEs and value chain actors. The high-level speakers addreseds various approaches on the topic of financing investments and agribusiness, ranging from policy support at country level; the operationalization of the policy framework for enhanced and structured engagement of aid programs with the private sector; the need to leverage private finance in development, the mechanisms in place to support SMEs in the agrifood sector, and the urgency to support inclusive and profitable value chains.

While there is no debate on the necessity for both public and private sector investment in food system development, the specific nature of these investments and how to better coordinate them to achieve sustainable food and nutrition security, still represent many unanswered questions, which are key to this debate. Resolving the challenges of achieving universal food and nutrition security in a sustainable manner requires significant and well-coordinated investments by the public sector, the private sector and civil society. This is well-recognized in both the 2002 Monterrey Consensus and the 2009 Doha Declaration, and it is reflected in the more recent Framework for ACP Private Sector Development signed in 2014, as well as the FAO Private Sector Strategy. Together, these hallmark initiatives highlight the critical importance of mobilizing domestic and international financial resources, leveraging international trade, and increasing international development cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals.

Investments that are targeted at developing sustainable value chains and food systems, inter alia, offer key pathways to achieve food security and improve nutrition through: (1) linking commercial-oriented smallholder farmer to rewarding markets; (2) creating and facilitating entry to decent jobs for women and men, including for vulnerable groups; and (3) improving value creation for consumers in the form of nutritious and readily available food at affordable prices. It also facilitates broader interventions along the value chain, including on food safety and quality standards, as well as food losses and waste. To further guide investment by small and medium-sized agro-enterprises (SMAEs) and multinational agribusinesses toward sustainable development goals, the Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment (2014) and the UN Food and Agriculture Business Principles (2014) provide frameworks that can be used on a voluntary basis in development and procurement programs as a means to simultaneously promote competitiveness, inclusiveness, and greenness and, ultimately, eradicate hunger and poverty.

***

Background note & Programme

Invitation & Flyer

Value Chain Finance BB.35 webpage: see also the Reader & Highlights & Resources

Agribusiness PPP’s BB.39 webpage: see also the Highlights & Resources on PPP

Photos

Biodata of panelists

Resources:

– Revisiting agriculture finance: A special report from Fin4ag

– EU private sector strategy

– UNFAO press release

***

Programme

Moderator: Michael Hailu, CTA Director

Opening remarks:

– Patrick Ignatius Gomes, Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)

– Graziano da Silva, Director General, FAO

Panelists:

– Tefera Derbew, the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture

– Roberto Ridolfi, Director, Sustainable Growth and Development, DG Europeaid, European Commission

– Mr Pim van Ballekom, Vice President, European Investment Bank (EIB)

– Andreas Proksch, Director General, Africa Department, GIZ

– Pierre van Hedel, President, Rabobank Foundation

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