Thematic Areas
Sustainable/Blended Finance for Food Systems
The Thematic Working Group on Sustainable/Blended Finance for Food Systems was established in response to a clear need identified in a 2023 enquiry conducted jointly by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) and the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate.
The enquiry’s summary report, “Unleashing the catalytic power of donor financing to achieve SDG2” presented findings and recommendations on how to increase the impact of donor and public funds on food systems through innovative financing approaches. A key recommendation was the creation of a multi-donor working group, to which the GDPRD responded by establishing this group in March 2024.
Thematic Areas
Sustainable/Blended Finance for Food Systems
The Thematic Working Group on Sustainable/Blended Finance for Food Systems was established in response to a clear need identified in a 2023 enquiry conducted jointly by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) and the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate.
The enquiry’s summary report, “Unleashing the catalytic power of donor financing to achieve SDG2” presented findings and recommendations on how to increase the impact of donor and public funds on food systems through innovative financing approaches. A key recommendation was the creation of a multi-donor working group, to which the GDPRD responded by establishing this group in March 2024.
Three reasons why we engage
To close the financing gap, donors need new ways to make their financing more catalytic by bringing in commercial financing from development finance institutions (DFIs) and the private sector.
Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, according to the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report.
Current development finance is insufficient to fill the estimated US$33 billion to US$50 billion per year public investment gap needed to achieve SDG 2 by 2030.
Every dollar of concessional finance can mobilize four dollars of commercial finance. Whether those four dollars deliver a sustainable development impact will determine if blended finance can bring both financial and development additionality.
The development community working on food systems is increasingly focusing on financing.
Donors and the wider blended finance community can expand the pool of blended finance by collaborating on cofinancing through the creation of a multi-donor working group, supported by a sustainable finance knowledge hub.
Talking about Sustainable/Blended Finance
Talking about Sustainable/Blended Finance
The goal of the group is to increase transparency, develop benchmarks, and build the evidence that will lead to better decision-making and more effective allocation of scarce donor dollars.
The goal of the group is to increase transparency, develop benchmarks, and build the evidence that will lead to better decision-making and more effective allocation of scarce donor dollars.
Developing a benchmark to measure the impact of blended finance is very challenging, as each deal comes with different financial and concessional parameters. That is why this group was created.
Developing a benchmark to measure the impact of blended finance is very challenging, as each deal comes with different financial and concessional parameters. That is why this group was created.
We are trying to collectively understand and agree on at least a starting point, from which we can move forward. Our promise to our partners is to continue analyzing and testing until the methodology we develop becomes a reference point.
We are trying to collectively understand and agree on at least a starting point, from which we can move forward. Our promise to our partners is to continue analyzing and testing until the methodology we develop becomes a reference point.
The Thematic Working Group Organizational Structure
The Global Donor Platform’s Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Sustainable/Blended Finance for Food Systems brings together representatives from donor organizations, philanthropies, public funds and foundations. The working group will initially operate within a time-bound mandate of two years (2024-2026). The current co-chairs are the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The overall goal of the thematic working group will be to increase transparency, develop benchmarks, and build the evidence that will lead towards better decision making and more effective allocation of scarce donor dollars.
Our priority areas
©IFAD/Jjumba Martin
©IFAD/Marco Salustro
Latest in Sustainable/Blended Finance
Events
CONTACT | CO-CHAIR
Tuleen Alkhoffash
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
CONTACT | CO-CHAIR
Songbae Lee
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
