Bonn, 28 June 2019.
The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development came together for its 2019 Annual General Assembly from 19-21 June in Zurich/Maennedorf, Switzerland. Most donor representatives of the Platform’s 40 member organisations, as well as strategic partners, took stock of the Platform’s achievements and shared updates on the thematic working groups, for example, the SDG2 Roadmap working group, the Global Donor Working Group on Land and the working groups on Climate Change, Rural Youth & Inclusive Agribusiness and Trade.
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Since its founding in 2003, the Platform has effectively shared knowledge and successfully advocated for the role of agriculture and rural development in promoting prosperous and rural communities underpinning global food and nutrition security. The Platform’s work has also convincingly shown that informed policy and programming are essential factors for better development results and efficiency of investments.
The new paradigm under the Agenda 2030 will change the roles of donor agencies and international finance institutions, as well as their programmes, policy priorities, and terms of engagement. New approaches for joint challenges such as the transformation of rural and urban food systems in the context of fragility and climate change are needed.
Considering the shifting donor landscape, the changing nature of challenges and future uncertainties for donors, the Platform has decided to adapt its structure and function. “With the aim of continuing to provide thought leadership in a changing environment, and to collaborate to influence ideas and resources benefitting sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation, the Platform, supported by a Members‘ task force, has launched a process of structural adjustment“, says David Hegwood of the U.S. Agency for International Development, one of the Platform Board’s Co-Chairs. By the end of November 2019, the Members‘ task force will present a proposal for a Global Donor Platform 2.0, ready to deliver innovation and impact on the road to 2030.
About the Global Donor Platform:
The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development is a network of 40 bilateral and multilateral donors, international financing institutions, intergovernmental organisations, foundations, and development agencies. Since 2003, the Platform has been serving as an open space for members and partners to exchange on different issues related to agriculture and rural development (ARD). The aim of the Platform is for donors and development actors to increase their commitment and expenditure in the areas of agriculture, rural development, and food security, thereby increasing the quality of life in rural areas in socio-economic sectors and improving the environment from a natural resources perspective. Targeted coordination between actors at international level aims to increase the effectiveness of programmes and policies on development cooperation.
