PLATFORM UPDATE

INNOVATION AND CHANGE ON THE ROAD TO 2030:

Making the Global Donor Platform fit for new challenges and perspectives

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.

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.

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A MEMBERS’ RETREAT FOR COLLECTIVE STRATEGIZING

Report from the Platforms Annual General Assembly 2019

From 19-21 June, the 2019 Annual General Assembly (AGA) brought together more than 40 participants, Platform members and partners, in Zurich/Maennedorf, Switzerland. After many years of thematically focused AGAs, this year’s edition was conceptualised as an inward-focused Members‘ retreat, intended to inspire members to reflect on and leverage their unique strengths in the rural development space, in particular in light of a thoroughly changing environment.

If the nature of a setting is an indicator for the success of an event, the conference venue at Boldern on the hills of Lake Zurich was the most perfect match. The venue, deliberately chosen by hosting Platform member Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), provided everything a creative retreat aiming for an innovative inventory-taking and strategizing required. Like in the past years, facilitation of the AGA was in the hands of Nancy White, the Platform’s long-term moderator.

The two-day long retreat focused on examining and possibly redefining the Platform’s purpose and mission while searching for a new modus operandi. The agenda comprehended a series of collective and individual exercises and offered many opportunities for bilateral or group conversations during and in-between sessions, providing the necessary space for further exploration and analysis of the discussed.

From maturity over creative destruction to birth of new ideas: the Platform’s eco-cycle

In their welcome address, both Co-Chairs, David Hegwood (USAID) and Patrick Herlant (EC) highlighted the immediate challenges as well as the range of decisions to be taken to sustain the activities and partnerships both in the short and the long run. The challenges are manifold, in particular the new paradigm under the Agenda 2030 that changes the roles of donor agencies and international financing institutions and impacts the shape of programmes and policy priorities.

In the subsequent exercises and discussions, Nany White led the participants on a journey of introspection and reflection, visually supported by the concept of an eco-cycle. Six key aspects were central: Purpose („What is the fundamental justification of the Platform?“), context („What is happening around us that demands change?“), challenges („What are the challenges we face in order to make progress?“), baseline („What are the Platform‘s current strengths that are valued by its members?“), ambition and action & evaluation.

In detail, this included introspection on past achievements and core functions as well as characterisation of internal and external challenges (e.g. preserve, overcome fears, seize opportunities). It included furthermore the assessment of the context and analysis of critical uncertainties, which included gaining insights from a background paper on thematic multi-stakeholder networks, prepared especially for the members’ retreat.

Building and using relationships: the Platform’s success factor

A strong asset of the Platform are its various thematic working groups and the space for networking it provides. There was also consensus that the Platform has established a highly valued set of formats and tools with regard to knowledge-sharing and communication. In another step, participants identified those products and activities, which they consider to be dispensable in order to dedicate resources on new innovative ideas.

„Members work together to influence ideas and resources for sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation“

In the further course, the participants defined a new Platform purpose in an iterative process of scoping and refinement. What Platform members valued highest is that the Platform is a space to interact formally and informally, to meet with peers and network for knowledge-sharing and informing policies and strategies. The core qualities linked with this – coordination and exchange - will also have to play a key role in the future of the Platform. This holds particularly true if the Platform aspires towards more strategic influence. Purpose and legitimation must be thought of together to justify the Platform. That was obvious, when participants shared their ideas for a purpose statement, that they would consider the trademark of the Platform. The one claim, that received the highest score of all, perfectly summarises the purpose: „Members work together to influence ideas and resources for sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation.“

Form follows function: Transition to a new phase

The subsequent Board meeting approved the installation of a Member Transition Task Force. The task force will present a proposal for a Global Donor Platform 2.0 by the end of November 2019. The revised format should secure the Platform’s role in continuing to provide thought leadership in changing environment, and to collaborate to influence ideas and resources.

For your reference, please also see the latest Platform statement „Innovation and change on the road to 2030: Making the Global Donor Platform fit for new challenges and perspectives“, that can be found on the Platform’s website or as PDF download.

The AGA 2019 was preceded by a series of meetings of several of the Platform’s Thematic Working Groups which are separately featured on the Global Donor website. As per Board decision, the SDG2 Roadmap group became an official Thematic Working Group of the Platform.

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WHAT PATHWAYS FOR FARMERS IN ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE?

Meeting of the Thematic Working Group on Climate Change

On 19 June 2019, 20 representatives from international organisations, donors, private foundations and knowledge institutes met in Zurich to discuss different adaptation pathways that will be needed for different types of farmers amid the pressure to feed a growing world population under rising world temperatures. The meeting was co-organised by the Donor Platform, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC). It sought to provide feedback to a draft proposal by CCAFS on the transformation of global food systems, as well as to promote exchange amongst Platform members and partners on the latest developments on the cross-roads between agriculture and climate change.

Five pathways in and out of agriculture

According to Bruce Campbell (CIAT/CCAFS) the food system is broken since progress in sustainably achieving food security for all has been very limited. To address the current challenges, it becomes crucial to use a transformative approach whereby the rural population is recognised in all its diversity, hence, requiring multiple adaptation pathways, with significant private sector involvement and being realistic about what agriculture can (and cannot) achieve. The proposal suggests five specific adaptation pathways according to farm types. For example, large scale commercial agriculture should increase focus on environmental outcomes. Smallholder/subsistence farmers should be supported in consolidating their land by means of having secured tenure and market access for their products. Those operating in extensive farming systems should be supported in diversifying their income, thus, exiting agriculture. In designing policies, decision makers should pay special attention to those who will remain “hanging in” and food insecure as they may be left behind due to quicker adaptation progress by other rural groups.

Exit is an option

But what would be the answer to farmers that fail to do agriculture due to insufficient land size and resources? “We finally talk about exiting agriculture as an option. Some farmers just can't do agriculture on a micro plot of land, so why try to keep farmers farming if they are barely scraping by?” said Dalma Somogyi from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Following this logic, Sanna-Liisa Taivalmaa, from Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, raised the urgent need to create jobs for smallholder farmers, tapping the potential of a closer rural-urban link. Simon Winter, from Syngenta Foundation, called for pragmatism while also caution for not over-simplifying solutions or getting stuck in a duality of large versus small farmers: “If we need to increase food production and security, we must have future farmers – those who need healthy soils, and more secure access to finance, to technology, to land. For those leaving agriculture, we need to understand where they are going and support these options.”

In the subsequent discussion participants expressed the need to consider different domains and angles in designing and implementing the different adaptation pathways beyond the focus on agricultural productivity. For example, the importance of governance systems and the political economy, which can foster but also undermine the diversification of farmers’ livelihoods. Understanding how these pathways can build and impact on education, health and nutrition is also an angle to be considered. In taking the discussion beyond the CCAFS proposal, participants suggested a few areas where donors and other actors can help build more climate-resilient agricultural systems. They could engage in partnerships around the Nationally Determined Contributions, in developing indicators on climate adaptation for agriculture, in strengthening the link between adaptation and disaster management, in supporting the evidence base for the work of the Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) and in better knowledge and management of food loss and waste.

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INSIGHTS INTO FAO’S AND OECD’S YOUTH PROGRAMMES

Meeting of the Thematic Working Group on Rural Youth

Rural youth are the future of food security. Yet, around the world, few young people see a future for themselves in agriculture or rural areas. The Thematic Working Group on Rural Youth of the Global Donor Platform addresses an inclusive rural transformation that entails bringing rural youth on board, empowering them to speak for themselves with their experiences and ideas, and creating the means for them to connect, share, and develop solutions for the challenges they face. In a meeting back-to-back to the Platform’s members’ only Annual General Assembly from 19-21 June in Zurich/Maennedorf, Switzerland, the group welcomed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to the Thematic Working Group. Representatives of both organisations shared findings, experiences, and lessons regarding rural youth employment with different donor representatives.

Peter Wobst, a senior economist in the economic and social development department at FAO, talked about FAO’s decent employment agenda that covers 22 countries in Africa and focuses on four main working areas: child labour, green jobs, rural migration, and youth employment.

Key messages from FAO:

• 1.2 billion youth (defined as being 15-24 years old) – 87% are living in developing countries, 55% of them in rural areas with limited opportunities for employment;
• Rural youth face challenges of lack of access to skills, resources, financing, and inclusion in policies;
• FAO’s Integrated Country Approach contributes efforts to integrate employment issues in the agriculture and rural development discourses at the global level;
• The integrated country level approach supports governments in developing strategies to improve the quality and quantity of on and off-farm jobs for rural youth.

Justina La of OECD shared findings, lessons and from the work of OECD focusing on youth. OECD has taken action in supporting local country ministries in revising national youth development strategies and youth policies through conducting thematic studies and country reports. OECD’s recent work on youth covers ten countries spread across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and in the Middle East.

Key messages from OECD:

• There is a need to create 600million more jobs in the next 15 years to maintain current employment rates;
• Agriculture is the leading provider of jobs for rural youth in developing countries – 37% of rural youth in developing countries are employed in agriculture;
• There is a significant gap between youth career expectations and the reality of the labour market - 76% of rural youth aspire to work in high skilled occupations, versus 13% actually working there;
• Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and youth entrepreneurs must be better integrated into local and global value chains;
• Local value chains must be examined from an employment perspective, in order to identify potential employment opportunities for youth. To date, agriculture and rural development-related programs are mostly youth-blind in their design and analysis, and seldom integrate a youth employment lens;
• There is a general lack of data on youth participation in agriculture value chains.

After the knowledge-sharing presentations, the group discussed its work plan and upcoming activities for the second half of 2019. Besides FAO and OECD, the meeting was attended by representatives of MEAE France, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (IADC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Syngenta, and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). France has newly joined the group which it views congruent with the priority of the French G7 Presidency on improving vocational training for youth. Vocational training has a key role in enhancing the employability of young people and adapting their skills to the needs of economies and territories in traditional and new innovative sectors.

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AID FOR TRADE (A4T): A VIEW FROM AUSTRALIA

Meeting of the Thematic Working Group on Inclusive Agribusiness & Trade

Members and strategic partners of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development’s Inclusive Agribusiness & Trade (IAB&T) Thematic Working Group (TWG) met in Zurich/Maennedorf Switzerland to share knowledge on their specific work on IAB&T in a lively roundtable discussion on 19 June, back to back to the Platform’s members’ only Annual General Assembly. The IAB&T TWG is a group of focal points for donor agencies and international organisations that support policies and projects on a variety of topics surrounding inclusive agribusiness, such as sustainable value chains, private sector and market systems development, blended finance for agricultural small and medium enterprises, policy coherence between trade and development, and Aid for Trade.

The objective of the meeting was to share experiences, lessons, initiatives, publications, and/or other outputs with the intention of sparking discussion on how Platform members and partners can better position themselves in the inclusive agribusiness and agricultural trade space to meet present and future challenges.

Julie Delforce, Senior Sector Specialist, Agricultural Development & Food Security of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), gave an update on an Aid for Inclusive Trade (A4T) workshop that was conducted in February 2019, organized in conjunction with World Vision Australia.

Some highlights of her presentation:

• Looking at how technology and A4T can support one another to manage the transition of LDCs sector economies where capacity building can be an answer for low skill jobs at risk from automation;
• The need to make market systems work better for the poor via A4T interventions to address market dysfunctions and root causes of poverty. A4T can complement market systems approaches by pushing the poorest families to build their capacities and making sure gender and disability equality are principle components of reformed market systems;
• How A4T can strengthen the circular economy, for example, by supporting the transfer of waste. The impacts of the global waste trade need to be carefully managed so that trade and environmental policies do not undermine one another. Trade and environment agendas are fertile ground for collaboration.
• The challenges of monitoring and evaluating A4T investments. A process framework focused on inclusive desirable outcomes is necessary.

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SMART THINKING FOR SMARTER AGRICULTURE

3rd Annual Forum of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture

Representatives from farmer organizations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), governments, research institutions, and other organizations committed to climate smart agriculture (CSA) from all continents met at the third annual forum of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) in Bonn, Germany from 15-16 July. Over the two-day event, a new GACSA Co-Chair, Hans Hoogeveen, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the FAO, was elected, panelists highlighted challenges and best practices of implementing CSA in different regions, and GACSA members strategized on how to implement their Strategic Plan 2018-2022.

Six thematic panel discussion sessions where held throughout the first day of the annual forum. Farmers, scientists, and other actors spoke about innovative CSA best practices within regional contexts, such as the use of agroforestry in Spain and the desire to use solar power in Zimbabwe to spur CSA practices. Climate extremes and other environmental shocks were discussed in the context of data modelling via the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project and how farmers could more readily contribute to and benefit from this type of modelling. Strategic partnerships for CSA and transformational change in agriculture and food systems were the subjects of another important discussion session.

The three GACSA action groups on knowledge, investment, and enabling environments had productive strategic planning sessions on the second day of the GACSA annual forum. Each working group sketched out a roadmap for deliverable actions in the next 6-9 months in support of implementing their Strategic Plan.

The investment action group created a roadmap outlining steps towards creating an investment proposal template that CSA farmers can take to investors in order to acquire financing. Action group members will further develop the template over the next months by asking their regional partners and local CSA farmers for input, allowing the template to be modified to reflect regional differences, needs, and investment requirements. The template’s aim is to help facilitate financial resource flows to CSA farmers, who are the primary investors. The template will be presented at a yet to be determined conference.

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#DANCEFORCHANGE

IFAD’s virtual petition for rural youth

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is taking a unique approach to drawing the attention of world leaders to invest in young people as a means to end global hunger and poverty. IFAD has recently launched an innovative global dance challenge dubbed #DanceforChange. It features MTV award-winning choreographer Sherrie Silver who is also IFAD’s Advocate for Rural Youth, and Nigerian recording artist Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade commonly known as Mr Eazi. The pair has teamed up to record a new song and music video.

The challenge asks young people to “make their moves matter” by recording a 15-second dance video, using Silver’s choreography, to the song "Freedom " in support of creating opportunities for rural youth in some of the world's poorest countries. The initiative is aimed to involve young people across the globe in bringing attention to the need for increased agricultural investment as a means to generate opportunities and hope for millions of rural youth while making the world more food secure amidst rising global hunger.

“We are dancing to capture the world’s attention and to share a message with young people everywhere: our generation can end global hunger, but only if our leaders invest more in agriculture and the next generation of young farmers,” said Silver.

The virtual dance petition was launched this week on TikTok, a mobile app for creating and sharing short-form videos. Inspired by the message and opportunity to use its platform in support of the campaign, TikTok is giving millions of its users a chance to participate, learn more about the issues, and make their voices heard. Upon uploading their dance video to the app, users can share them using the hashtag #DanceforChange and add their video to the petition.

In a pre-launch promotion on TikTok, nearly 5,000 people from around the world have created unique video dances and memes in support of the cause. The highest audience engagement so far has been in Canada, India, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

IFAD will use results from the dance challenge in their advocacy efforts to remind world leaders of the need to increase investments in agriculture as well as long-term development and training for rural youth.

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INFOGRAPHIC OF THE MONTH

Addressing rural youth distress migration

Increasing mobility of youth has seen migration become a part of rural livelihood strategies. Migration however can be complex and have varying consequences. This infographic provides an overview of the root causes of economic distress migration of rural youth, in the context of labour migration, and describes how out-migration and remittances, if well managed, can contribute to rural development, poverty reduction and food security.

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MEMBERS AND PARTNERS STRATEGIES, PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTS

EVENTS

Wednesday, 3–5 July 2019 | Geneva, Switzerland
WTO - Global Review on Aid for Trade 2019

The next Global Review of Aid for Trade will take place from 3 to 5 July 2019 at the WTO headquarters under the theme “Supporting Economic Diversification and Empowerment for Inclusive, Sustainable Development through Aid for Trade”.

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Monday, 1–5 July 2019 | Paris, France
G7 Development and Education Ministerial Meeting - joint session (including FSN & sustainable agriculture)

The joint meeting of the Education and Development Ministers, which is planned to take place at UNESCO will take place from 4-5 July and aims to further and amplify political commitment to combat educational inequality with Two goals; Supporting girls’ education worldwide and Improving the quality of vocational training. Partner international organisations and African countries will be fully involved in these meetings.

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Wednesday, 4-5 July 2019 | Utrecht, Netherlands
LANDac Annual International Conference

The LANDac Annual International Conference looks at land governance through the lens of transformations: what are the long-term dynamics around land, water and food production? The conference will start on 3 July with a screening of a film “This land” that spells out the struggles of rural South Africans that resist the construction of a mine on their farmland that they have farmed on for years.

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Monday, 8–11 July 2019 | Des Moines Iowa, USA
BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotech

The BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology program will feature the latest in industrial biotech, food and Ag tech, BIO One-On-One Partnering meetings plus endless networking opportunities. The event will take place at the Iowa Events Center between 8th and 11th July 2019 and will bring together over 900 attendees from different sectors.

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Tuesday, 9–18 July 2019 | New York, USA
High-Level Political Forum 2019 under the auspices of ECOSOC

The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2019 convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, will be held from 9-18 July and will include the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from 16-18 July 2019. The theme will be “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”. The set of goals to be reviewed in depth are Goals 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, and 17.
The forum will be held at the Headquarters of the United Nations.

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Sunday, 21–23 July 2019 | Atlanta, USA
Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

The AAEA will bring together about 1,400 participants on 21–23 July at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta. The Meeting will have representatives from academic departments, government agencies, and the private sector in the fields of agricultural and applied economics who will be engaged in plenary sessions, conference workshops, committee meetings, and an award and fellows recognition ceremony.

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Friday, 26–31 July 2019 | Minneapolis/Bloomington, USA
The Annual Agricultural Media Summit (AMS)

The 21st annual Agricultural Media Summit will be held in Minneapolis/Bloomington, Minnesota from 26-31 July. This is the largest gathering of agriculture’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and communication specialists in the U.S. This year, AMS will host the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ (IFAJ) Annual Congress and will join the AAEA, the Agricultural Communicators Network, Livestock Publications Council, and the Connective Agri-Media Committee.

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ABOUT US

Now out: Platform 2018 Annual Report
2018 was a vibrant and productive year for the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development. The 2018 Annual Report gives an overview and highlights the key milestones.

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Members Only Tool Box
As part of the Platform’s new communication strategy, the Secretariat has developed a virtual toolbox with helpful documents, reports and graphics files around the Global Donor Platform. The first version of this toolbox was distributed at the beginning of April, an updated version is in progress. In case you have not yet received the toolbox, have questions on its use, or comments, please contact the Secretariat:

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