Thursday, June 30, 2022

Boosting responsible investment in agriculture and food systems in Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Tunisia.

29 to 30 June 2022
. Boosting responsible investment in agriculture and food systems in Africa – Good practices to #buildbackbetter multi-stakeholder workshop

Recording forthcoming
  • Organised by FAO and the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA).
  • The event brought together key stakeholders from government, non-governmental organizations and agribusinesses from Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Tunisia.
FAO, ITOCA and partners have provided long-standing support to policy makers, parliamentarians, technical government staff, young agri-entrepreneurs, NGOs and CSOs in Africa under the FAO Umbrella Programme “Supporting Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems”, with support from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture, and the French Republic.

The objectives of this event were:
  • Identifying, showcasing, and discussing good practices that boost responsible investment in agriculture and food systems in Africa.
  • Contributing to knowledge exchange among experts and practitioners from different African countries, and encouraging the emergence of a community of practitioners; and
  • Fostering commitment from dedicated stakeholders to contribute to boosting responsible agri-food systems investments and applying the CFS-RAI Principles.

29/06 Improved governance for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems

It is key to support inclusive processes, which help foster shared understandings on the type of investments needed and their desired impacts, and to define joint objectives among government, civil society and the private sector on how to promote and facilitate such investments. These objectives need to be transformed into coherent and predictable policies, which are essential for investors to operate in a stable environment, for communities to defend their rights, and for governments to realize the potential of rural areas. This includes, amongst others, strong investment screening and assessment processes; multi-stakeholder dialogue and concertation for improved policymaking and implementation; as well as predictable, coherent and sound policies, laws and regulations.

At the same time, it is critical that investment promotion policies and incentives regimes are not only enhanced through improved investment targeting, but also through a more diversified targeting of investors. Beyond attracting larger-scale investments, investment promotion regimes have a crucial role to play in building back better by also offering services and incentives to local actors, which can have a transformative impact on food systems, people and communities. 
  • Moderator Andrew Nadeau, Senior Capacity Development Officer, FAO
  • bakai Varpilah, Ministry of Agriculture, Liberia; and Emna Ouertani, Institute of Agronomic Research of Tunisia (INRAT) - The critical role multi-stakeholder platforms and think tanks can play in enhancing policy design and dialogue, elaborating on both government and science led examples 
  • Henrique B. Zayzay, National Investment Commission, Liberia - The importance of improved screening processes for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems
  • Mohamed Abderrahmane Deddi, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Promotion of Productive Sectors, Mauritania - The crucial factor of policy coherence and streamlined processes for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems

30/06 Empowering youth to engage in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems 

More efforts are needed to empower young women and men, who are the future of agriculture and rural areas, to engage in agriculture and food systems.
  • Moderator: Yannick Fiedler, Programme Officer, FAO
  • Monia Ben Romdhane, Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA), Tunisia - Training and accompanying young promoters – the Agri-accelerator hub in Tunisia and the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency 
  • Nicholas Jengre, Solidaridad, Sierra Leone; and Jonathan Stewart, Agro-Tech Liberia Strategies and programmes to engage youth in inclusive business models 
  • Fara Ndiaye, Confédération des Réseaux des Jeunes Agripreneurs du Sénégal - The critical role youth can play in pursuing their own agendas through improved organizational capacities and concerted action
  • Gracian Chimwaza ITOCA Engaging future leaders – learning programmes for students and young researchers

Empowering young agri-entrepreneurs through coaching and incubation programmes: good coaching practices and promising businesses 

  • Mahmoud Khemakhem, coach in agricultural business creation at APIA - The RAI Agri-accelerator hub coaching 
  • Ines Messaoudi, Sultana company manager - Pitching of her investment project in fruity olive oil

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