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PLATFORM UPDATE
13 March 2020
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IN BRIEF
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BUILDING A COMMON NARRATIVE ON SDG2The Road to the 2021 Food Systems Summit
On the occasion of the 2020 International Green Week in Berlin, Germany the SDG2 Roadmap Group initiated an informal meeting with a diverse group of stakeholders on 20 January 2020. Dr. Agnes Kalibata, recently nominated UN SG Special Envoy for 2021 Food Systems Summit, accepted the group´s invitation and took the chance to meet the donor group for the first time in her new position. The meeting was convened by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and aimed to discuss the road to the Food Systems Summit in New York in 2021, exploring what must constitute a common narrative, building vision and alliance for achieving the SDG2 objective of zero-hunger. The meeting, which allowed participation via digital conferencing technology, assembled and explored expectations into and the deliverables needed from the Berlin Momentum event - scheduled for 8 June 2020 in Berlin and hosted by BMZ. The meeting with a turnout of 60 high-level participants from key donor countries and agencies, Rome-based UN organisations, civil society as well as international research organisations and think tanks was marked by the first opportunity for the UN SG Special Envoy for 2021 Food Systems Summit, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, to convene with committed parties in her new role. She recognized the strong commitment to achieving the zero-hunger goal and the shared sense of urgency, called for ambitious thought and action but also emphasized that her leadership in this requires resources, particularly for the actions to be taken up by the Rome-based institutions for coordination and agenda-setting, making sure the process will lead to progress. “We must think out of the box. We need to change the whole food system: food habits, the way how we produce food, think about the costs, cost of knowledge, and deliver against hunger. To achieve this, we must define on how ambitious we must be, taking into consideration evidence and research”, she said. Both, Mrs. Carla Montesi, Director Planet & Prosperity at the European Commission, and Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, presented keynote speeches to the gathered participants, emphasizing the importance of this year – 2020 – for action in the fight against all forms of hunger under international law and the SDG2 objective. “The year 2020 is crucial for the fight against all forms of hunger. There are only 10 years left to ensure that in 2030 no one must go hungry. A new vision, a strengthened alliance and an updated narrative are needed”, Flachsbarth said. “Combined forces and cross-sectoral cooperation are also lessons to be drawn from the German One World, No Hunger Initiative (SEWOH) that provide ample example for innovations, which are key to increase productivity, income and jobs”, she continued. Montesi emphasised that “the Food Systems Summit stands for a shared responsibility and the recognition that we will not tackle the food challenge and climate change in isolation. “What we do in the Green Deal takes into consideration the objectives of the SDG2“, Montesi said. At its last meeting, the Board of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development decided to hold this year’s Annual General Assembly (AGA) under the topic of food systems. The event, which is planned to take place in Rome, Italy, in June, will focus on the role of the private sector in building sustainable and resilient food systems and thereby contribute to the preparation for the Food Systems Summit. WEBLINK
CERES2030What works to end hunger?
On 26 February 2020 at GIZ’s offices in Bonn, the Ceres2030 team engaged in one of many dialogues planned with donor and implementing agencies on their research methodology and results. Ceres20320 is a partnership between International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Cornell University supported by Global Donor Platform members, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dialogue with the donor agencies and development practitioners is key for the success of the project, whose aim is to provide tangible guidance for donors on where and how they should make their investments to achieve the goal of zero hunger by 2030. The project, introduced by Carin Smaller of IISD, combines a synthesis of the existing evidence base for eight questions in agriculture, identified with the guidance of an advisory board composed of 18 experts in sustainable food systems from 17 global organizations, with an economic cost modelling. The focus on evidence to support achieving SDG indicators 2.1, 2.3 and 2.4 is due to an identified dearth of evidence for these factors. In addition, SDG2 is seen by many as a means to achieve other SDGs, for example, those for climate action in SDG13 and for reducing inequalities in SDG10. The machine-learning techniques applied by Ceres2030 have allowed the review of a huge data set of evidence – 100,000 articles on agriculture produced over the last 10 years – “one of the largest reviews of agriculture evidence base to ever take place,” according to Smaller. The final results of Ceres 2030 will be presented at the BMZ’s SDG2 Momentum event on 8 June 2020 and subsequently published in a special collection with the Nature Research Journals, which means the articles will be subject to the highest standards of peer-review. For the time after June, the Ceres2030 Team has forthcoming plans: further scenario development for the cost modelling, a broad stakeholder dialogue to disseminate the learnings of their findings and future collaboration with related research initiatives. WEBLINK
GLOBAL DONOR PLATFORM BOARD MEETINGBoard Meeting sets the course for the Platform 2.0
The Platform Board held its physical board meeting at IFAD Rome, on 6 and 7 February 2020. Under the guidance of the Co-chair (USAID), the meeting reflected on the Platform’s activities, priorities and direction going forward. The meeting deliberated on 21 recommendations drawn by the transition task force team and number of recommendations/decisions including secretariat staff structure (during and after the transition period), membership, working modalities and priority activities were agreed upon during the meeting. The remaining recommendations will be redefined and approved at a later stage. The work and direction of the thematic working groups was also discussed, and a few decisions were drawn. From the meeting, it was agreed that the next Annual General Assembly be held at the IFAD headquarter in Rome, on 25–26 June 2020, and it will center around food systems. There was a consensus on the fact that the AGA should be a mix of high levels sessions (high-level segments, with high-level speakers, at the Ministerial or AVP/DG levels) and working sessions (breakout sessions focused on deepening topics and more technical aspects). The preparatory committee for the AGA is currently being established. WEBLINK
NEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ECNew online services from DEVCO Academy
The European Union Commission through the DEVCO Academy newsletter has recently announced some new online services, namely an overhaul of the website. The website update was designed to make the platform easier to explore, with learning resources needed for more accessibility. The update has made it possible for the platform to be accessed by different devices thus making the learning experience more flexible and effective. Along with the new look and feel, they have also introduced a new video series. The DEV in a snapshot is also online. The DEV in a snapshot has been designed to guide users through the basics of development in one minute. Check out the website and learn more about acronyms like VET, RBA or PPD. EU is also pleased to announce their new online course on Earth Observation and Space Data. The increasingly availability of massive amounts of space data, particularly from the EU’s Earth Observation Programme – Copernicus, provides a wealth of opportunities for organizations large and small, in the private as well as in public sector, to develop and deliver new and innovative products and services in a variety of areas such as mobility, energy, logistic, pollution control, urban management, land use and agriculture. This new course is aimed at enabling anyone to use geo-information data. The Copernicus MOCC (Massive Open Online Course) 1 is scheduled to start on Monday 09 March 2020. For more information on the course and registration follow this link. DEVCO is also hosting more than 140 interactive e-learning courses and 100 other learning resources, including webinars, documents and podcasts. These include two E-learning courses on Sustainable Development Goals Indicators and Water Management for Climate-Smart Agriculture, and a video on Value Chain Development. WEBLINK
INFOGRAPHIC OF THE MONTHChallenges for youth networks in Africa
Youth networks are a manifestation of young people innovating their way out of challenges and trying to get their voices heard. These associations have been seen to create synergies and work together to push different agendas and achieve different goals including lobbying and advocacy for youth inclusion, joint production and marketing to take advantage of economies of scale, generation of academic research and even providing peer support and membership mentorship for young people. The journey of youth networks is not always a smooth one. As young people in networks thrive to achieve different goals and missions, they face various challenges that impede their success. This month’s infographic is taken from a report on a mapping study that was taken on by the secretariat of the GDPRD to identify youth representation for the Rural Youth Thematic Working Group. The infographic shows the most common challenges identified by youth networks during the study. The study found that limited operational resources was the major challenge faced by networks and surprisingly, this was closely followed by limited political support and recognition from policy makers as some networks are perceived to antagonise governments. Other challenges identified included lack of technical guidance, limited access to information and cross networking, varying youth mindsets, limited avenues for participation and of course other general challenges faced in the agricultural sector. See the full report for more insights into youth networks working around agriculture and rural development. WEBLINKMEMBERS AND PARTNERS STRATEGIES, PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTSNEW PUBLICATIONS
FINLAND’S DEVELOPMENT POLICY RESULTS REPORT 2018 Finland’s development policy aims to produce results in cooperation with its partners both in the short and long-term with the goal of contributing to broad societal impacts and sustainable development at a global scale. Finland and its partners are achieving the development policy objectives quite well and are generating positive results which contribute to global stability and wellbeing. The results were produced through cooperation with developing countries, development financing institutions and organisations as well as with other partners and are grouped in accordance with the four priority areas of Finland’s development policy: Women and girls, Economy and Jobs, Well-functioning society and Natural resources. These four priority areas are anchored in the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030 adopted by the United Nations. The first section presents a summary of the report and highlights key results and conclusions drawn. A major section of this report is dedicated to results and it describes the global situation, Finland’s work in the four priority areas, together with results realized until 2018. Implementation of Finland’s development policy and conclusions made by external evaluators are also reviewed in this report.
SCHOOL MEALS FOR ALL – A CASE STUDY OF FINLAND This study introduces a variety of local and national innovative practices implemented by various organisations and short case-studies of school meal systems in four Finnish municipalities. In doing so, this report provides insights on the Finnish school Feeding System including its history, key design and implementation features, impact evidences and lessons learnt. Introduced in the 1940s, this programme seeks to offer free-of-charge, versatile and balanced, appropriately arranged and structured meals every single school day for all pupils and students in pre-primary, basic and upper secondary education. Under this programme, the pre-primary, basic and secondary education providers are obliged to provide all children and students with free meals that fulfill the requirements specified in the legislation and the local curricula, and at subsidized costs to students in higher education.
SECOND BIENNIAL REVIEW REPORT OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MALABO DECLARATION ON ACCELERATED AGRICULTURAL GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION FOR SHARED PROSPERITY AND IMPROVED LIVELIHOODS The Malabo Declaration was adopted by the AU Assembly Heads of State and Government in June 2014 and provides the direction for Africa’s agricultural transformation for the period 2015-2025, within the CAADP, as a vehicle to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the First Ten Year Implementation Plan of Africa’s Agenda 2063. This report is a collaborative effort of the AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities and several technical organizations and individuals, under the leadership of the African Union Commission and the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD). Its aim is to present individual Member States and their collective performances in order to trigger continental, regional and national level action programmes to collectively drive agriculture transformation in Africa. This second Biennial Review builds on the efforts of the first round and tracks the country performance on each of the 47 indicators that shows the performance of the agricultural sector in the continent (four more indicators than in the inaugural report, covering food insecurity and food safety). In this report, the seven Malabo Commitments are translated into seven thematic areas of performance. Considerable efforts have gone into improving the data quality, with more countries reporting in the second round, and there is an overall positive trend in the performance of countries, even though only four countries achieved the required milestones to be on track. The report shows that there is still a lot to be done in the march towards agricultural transformation in Africa, and the need of collectively sustaining the momentum, undertaking deeper and bolder initiatives to accelerate the progress rate, and ensuring that agriculture contributes to the goals and targets set by the Heads of State and Government by 2025.
NEW PLATFORM STUDY REPORT:
Last year, a mapping study was carried out by the Platform Secretariat to identify youth networks in Africa. The assessment aimed at obtaining a clearer picture of how rural youth in Africa interact and voice their interests. The study also feeds into the work of the Platform’s Thematic Working Group on Rural Youth, which provides a forum for donor members and youth representatives to exchange and discuss relevant development issues. The report uses case studies to give insights into three categories of networks that were identified based on different characteristics such as their background, thematic areas, structures, and location governance. It also talks about the challenges faced by networks and concludes with recommendations on how development practitioners can continuously engage and facilitate youth networks and amplify their contribution to sustainable food systems development. The convening power of youth networks has made them become entry points for different interventions from donors, governments and other development agencies. From the report, we see that youth networks have very similar characteristics but they are also diverse and operate under different settings that affect their operations and practitioners need to understand how these networks work to deliver interventions that best work to fit them. EVENTSThe global situation with the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been developing rapidly, with impact on conferences, workshops and travels. When planning to participate in the events listed in this calendar, please consult individual organisers’ websites for specific event-related information/ safety instructions as the platform is not responsible for the events registered on our website.
Mon 16 March 2020 | Washington DC, USA The evening presents a chance for land specialists, policy makers, researchers and civil society representatives to share insights from their work and forge new relationships. Along with presenting the latest Prindex data – now covering 93 countries – there will be a discussion on two new pieces of research: the first on how property rights intersect with gender; the second examining how people assess risks to their property rights.
Mon 16 March 2020 | Washington DC, USA
USAID and New America will be launching the Land and Resource Governance Research Agenda, which dictates its research priorities in this area over the coming years. Experts from across the international development and global security space will be speaking about why land governance matters to their work.
Thu 16 April 2020 | EU Parliament, Brussels The final conference of the FARMID Project, an EU-funded project addressing the topic of social farming in Europe. The event will include panel discussions with experts and practitioners on the possibilities of employment of PMID on social farms, a presentation of the case studies, and a demonstration of the training course produced as part of the project.
Mon 20–21 April 2020 | Berlin, Germany The annual Global Solutions Summit held by the Global Solutions Initiative brings together international research organizations, thought leaders and decision-makers from across politics, business and civil society. ABOUT USBoard Meeting The Platform held its last Board Meeting on 6 and 7 February 2020 at IFAD’s Headquarters in Rome. The report is in the news section. The full Meeting Minutes are available for download from the Platform’s website. New focal points Ronald Hartmann, Director Global Engagement, Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation, is IFAD’s new focal point. He follows on Torben Nilsson who left IFAD end of January to take up a new position with the European Commission in Brussels. Secretariat staff changes Starting January 2020, IFAD has taken over first responsibilities of the Platform Secretariat. Until 30 June 2020, the Secretariat will be jointly coordinated with GIZ, before IFAD will be fully responsible. During the first six months, Maurizio Navarra is IFAD’s Secretariat Coordinator. He is supported by IFAD intern Priscilla Sambiani. The team is complemented with Willem Wefers Bettink, Head of IFAD’s Programme and Change Management Department. As part of the transition process, also the Platform Secretariat at GIZ has a new composition. Laura Barrington took up a new position with GIZ in Brussels and handed over responsibilities of Secretariat Coordinator to Joerg Lohmann, who is looking back to an extensive work record with GIZ. Manuel Urrutia, Junior Advisor and Coordinator of the Global Working Group on Land left GIZ on 14 February to enroll in a PhD programme Donor on climate change mitigation in Ecuador at the United Nations University in Bonn. Tobias Braun is the new Finance Advisor in the team. He follows on Simone Miller who left the Platform Secretariat by the end of January. Oliver Hanschke continues as the Communications Advisor and Rural Youth coordinator until June 2020 but has reduced his workforce for the Platform to 50%. Octavio de Araujo finished his internship with the Secretariat in January. The new intern is Sylvia Otieno, a Kenyan national with a MSc in Environmental Governance from the University of Freiburg, Germany. |
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