Background

This year’s AGA will engage in a series of thought-provoking questions and discussions around:

innovative financing for food systems transformation and rural development;
coordinating donor approaches to increasing the volume, efficiency and effectiveness of financial flows; and
harmonized stakeholder engagement.

The AGA will build on the recommendations of the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report for donors, and the urgent need to bridge financing gaps for food systems. Overall, the AGA will build the GDPRD’s capacity to strategically influence international food systems transformation and rural development agendas.

Agenda
Day 1: Tuesday, 26 November, 8:30-17:30 CET
8:30–9:00	Welcome coffee
9:00-9:05	Welcome by GDPRD Secretariat Maurizio Navarra, GDPRD Secretariat Coordinator, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
9:05-9:10	Opening by GDPRD Chairs Bruce Campbell, GDPRD Chair; Senior Policy Advisor, The Food Systems Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Focal Point, SDC Agriculture and Food Systems Network – Switzerland Federica de Gaetano, GDPRD Chair; Food Security and Rural Development Expert, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)
9:10-9:30	Keynote Address Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Former Prime Minister of Niger, Former CEO NPCA and AUDA-NEPAD, African Union Special Envoy on Food Systems
9:30-10:30	Background and Scene Setting Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, Global Donor Platform for Rural Development Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Jo Puri, Special Adviser, Strategic Initiatives, Office of the President and Vice President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
10:30-11:00	Coffee break
11:00-12:30	High-Level Session: Catalytic Development Finance for a Sustainable and Resilient Future Moderator: Agnes Johan, Head of Blended Finance, Rabo Partnerships Attiya Waris, Professor of Fiscal Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi in Kenya and UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights in 2021 Hon. Neema Lugangira, Member of Parliament Tanzania and Board Member of the Global Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF and Member of the Executive Committee of the UN Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Ines Rocha, Regional Director Europe, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Chris Isaac, Chief Investment Officer, AgDevCo Donor/bilateral Board representative, (tbc)
12:30-14:00	Lunch
14:00-15:30	Breakout Sessions: Drawing on the morning sessions, participants will pinpoint critical factors hindering or facilitating the effective utilization of donor resources, and the merits and synergies of different funding modalities to advance food systems transformation and rural development. Thematic Discussion Areas *Theme 1: Climate finance* Opening lead speaker: (tbd) Moderator: Mandakini Surie, Senior Consultant, Global Donor Platform for Rural Development *Theme 2: Unlocking private capital for food systems transformation* Opening lead speaker: Christopher Brett, Lead Agribusiness Specialist, World Bank Moderator: Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, Global Donor Platform for Rural Development *Theme 3: Improving financing approaches for agri-food SMEs* Opening lead speaker: Andrea Zinn, Director, Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF) and Senior Manager Aceli Americas, Aceli Africa Moderator: Henry Bonsu, Journalist and Broadcaster *Theme 4: Innovative financing in fragile contexts* Opening lead speaker: Tuleen Alkhoffash, Senior Portfolio Manager, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Moderator: Maurizio Navarra, GDPRD Secretariat Coordinator, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
15:30-16:00	Coffee break
16:00–16:30	Report-Back from Breakout Sessions: Moderated session with speakers and rapporteurs from the breakout sessions

Objectives

This session will seek to address the following fundamental questions:

Identify the key constraints and opportunities for using ODA more catalytically to drive larger-scale investments in transforming food systems and rural development.
Explore lessons and opportunities for incentivizing private sector investments toward food systems transformation.
Investigate the range of financing institutions, modalities and mechanisms that donors can use in complementary and coordinated ways to enhance their catalytic potential.
Identify how the GDPRD and its stakeholders can strategically contribute to food systems transformation and rural development agendas.
Reflect on what donors should be doing differently.

Expected outcomes

Understand the merits and synergies of different funding modalities which can be used to advance food systems transformation and rural development.
Pinpoint critical factors hindering or facilitating the effective utilization of donor resources.
Identify best practices for incentivizing private sector in food systems transformation.
Recognize how different development financing models can be used in various situations, including innovative approaches (e.g., the use of blended finance, climate finance).
Outline actionable steps for meaningful collaboration at the global and national level.

Annual General Assembly 2024 – Main Session

High-Level Session: Catalytic Development Finance for a Sustainable and Resilient Future

Background

Objectives

Expected outcomes

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AGA Agenda and Speakers

AGA Concept Note

Other AGA 2024 Sessions

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