Tuesday 27 June 2023 | 10:00-18:30 CET | IFAD HQ, ROME, ITALY and on ZOOM

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Concept Note

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This high-level dialogue is the culminating event of the GDPRD’s workstream on Country Level Donor Coordination for Food Systems Transformation, initiated in July 2022. The workstream objective is to support donors and their partners with practical guidance on how to improve coordination and alignment, particularly at the country level.

The discussions from this event, together with a series of key informant interviews with experts and practitioners, a literature review and analysis of existing donor coordination efforts and practices, will feed into a final report that will provide a review and guidance on good practices for enhancing donor coordination for food systems transformation and rural development.

To help drive a future agenda for development partner coordination, the GDPRD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the European Commission are convening a one-day high-level dialogue bringing together ministerial and senior representatives from partner country governments, donors, and international institutions to explore:

  • The challenges that countries face in addressing national pathways for food systems transformation

  • The ways in which donors and other development partners can better coordinate their assistance to support food systems transformation in countries

  • Viable practices and approaches for coordination at a country level

  • The enhanced coordination needed at global and regional levels to address the twin challenges of responding to food crises and building long-term resilience.

Background and rationale

Globally, countries are grappling with rising food, fertilizer, and fuel prices, and increasing food insecurity, brought on by the escalating impacts of climate change, conflict, and Covid-19.

The disruption of eco-systems, agri-food production systems and value chains are causing an unprecedented rise in global hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and distress migration. In the future, extreme weather, geo-political instability, and pest and disease outbreaks are likely to increase, exacerbating the risk of food crises.

In this context, there has never been a greater need for coordinated donor investments and collaboration that align with partner country needs and priorities. However, emerging crises, pressure on resources and weakening multi-lateral cooperation combine to increase the challenges for effective donor coordination.
The coming years are likely to see a critical need for balancing short-term crisis response with longer-term development to create food systems for the future that can ensure security and be resilient to the impacts of climate change, growing food demands and market disruptions. Increasingly scarce donor resources will need to optimize their catalytic potential with greater policy coherence and coordination between development partners and partner countries.

Agenda

Moderation by Mandakini Surie, Senior Consultant, GDPRD
10:00 – 10:05 Welcome Conrad Rein, European Commission (Platform Co-Chair)
Tristan Armstrong, Australia (Platform Co-Chair)
10:05 – 10:15 Interactive Session Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor to the GDPRD
10:15 – 10:30 Keynote Address Afshan Khan, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement
10:30 – 10:45 Insights from high-level interviews Jim Woodhill
10:45 – 12:00 High-level panel H.E. Hussein Mohamed Bashe, Minister of Agriculture, Tanzania

H.E. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt

Titta Maja-Luoto, Deputy Director General, Department for Development Policy, Finland

Sara Sekkenes, UN Resident Coordinator, Lao PDR

James Catto, Director of the Office of International Development Policy, Department of Treasury, United States
12:00 – 12:45 Q&A session All
12:45 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:15 Plenary presentations on thematic challenges for:
- Data
- Finance
- Crisis response
- Long-term resilience
- Policy		 Data: Carin Smaller, Executive Director, Shamba Centre for Food and Climate

Finance: Nadine Gbossa, Director, Food Systems Coordination, IFAD and Chief, Means of Implementation, UN Food Systems Coordination Hub

Crisis response: David Nabarro, Strategic Director, 4SD and Co-lead, Food Workstream of the UN Secretary General’s UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance 

Long-term resilience: Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes for Africa, World Resources Institute

Policy: Johan Swinnen, Managing Director of Systems Transformation, CGIAR and Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
15:15 – 17:45 Townhall dialogue: interactive audience participation
High-level discussion for direction-setting and forward agenda
Coffee break mid-session		 Juan Echanove, Associate Vice President for Food and Water Systems, CARE

Jo Puri, Associate Vice-President, Strategy and Knowledge Department, IFAD

David Nabarro, Strategic Director, 4SD

Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO

Iris Krebber, Head of Agriculture, Food Security and Land, UK Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office (FCDO)

Christine Umutoni, UN Resident Coordinator, Liberia
18:00 End and Aperitivo Leonard Mizzi, Head of Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Fisheries, European Commission

This is a hybrid (in-person and virtual) by invitation-only event. Contact the GDPRD Secretariat for more information.