Boosting responsible investments in sustainable agriculture and food systems was the focus of a high-level event on 12 October 2022 at the 50th session of the Committee on World Food Security. Convened to take stock of the CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI), the Global Thematic Event (GTE) featured a presentation of initiatives carried out by governments, the civil society, academia, the private sector and international organizations to increase the quality and quantity of investments in the agricultural sector around the world.

Chaired by Marcela Villarreal, the FAO Partnerships and UN Collaboration Director, the GTE was opened by the CFS Chairperson, Ambassador Gabriel Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, recalling that “when our governments adopted the 2030 Agenda in 2015, the Means of Implementation were acknowledged as an integral part of the SDGs. Mobilising finance, technology, trade, policy coherence, multi-stakeholder partnerships and governance are key targets of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development -SDG 17” and this event aimed to address the Means of Implementation in terms of responsible investment in agriculture.

The need for increased funding for sustainable and inclusive food systems that sustainably reduce hunger and poverty, while addressing climate change, was highlighted by several speakers, including the H.E. Al Sayed Mohammed El-Qosair, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt, where the upcoming COP 27 will be hosted.

The Global Director of the World Bank, Mr. Martien van Nieuwkoop, stressed the importance of putting in place incentives for responsible agricultural investment and sustainable practices and of increasing regulation to encourage investors to align with the CFS-RAI Principles and other guidelines. He noted poor performance of the private sector in the contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals so far, which was reiterated by Ms. Viktoria de Bourbon de Parme from the World Benchmarking Alliance, who reported that “only 26 companies out of the 350 assessed on the Food and Agriculture Benchmark have set emissions reduction targets aligned with the recommendations of the Paris Agreement”.

H.E. Elissa Golberg, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Canada to FAO, reiterated that "the shocks we have lived demonstrate further the relevance of the 2030 Agenda and our financing for development goals". Designing new policies and financial tools – including innovative financing tools - remain key to attract greater investment in food systems, and to drive innovative, inclusive, and transformative solutions to achieve SDG2.

Similarly, Mr Jeremy Coller, Chairman of the Coller Capital, stressed that policy tools such as the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture produced by the CFS are crucial, and “should take stock of the challenging issues that we face today - such as climate stability and biodiversity loss – as our food production depends on a healthy environment”. He also underlined the importance of having policymakers focusing on solutions, encouraging greater investment in sustainable food systems.

The Secretary General of the Network of Farmers' Organizations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa (ROPPA) and representative of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism, Mr Nadjirou Sall, reminded the audience about the importance of investment made by and for small-scale producers to guarantee food security.

Bringing the critical voice of parliaments, H.E. Senator Silvia Giacoppo, President of the Latin American and the Caribbean Parliament(PARLATINO), highlighted parliamentarians’ key role in enhancing both public and private investments and requested additional support from FAO in developing the capacities of parliamentarians. The Senator also emphasized her commitment to take the CFS-RAI agenda to the Second Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition, to be held in 2023, and to call for action to parliamentarians from all regions to bring the Principles into transparent and stable policies, legal frameworks and incentives.

The most recent member to join the CFS, Tunisia, was represented by the Director-General of the Tunisian Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA), Inji Douggui Hanini. She stressed the importance of empowering youth through strategies to promote responsible investment in agriculture and food systems and highlighted the excellent collaboration between Tunisia, FAO and a further ten African countries in this regard. Ms Douggui also reiterated Tunisia's commitment to the “integration of the CFS-RAI Principles in agricultural investment promotion policies and processes”.

Eight years after their adoption, the CFS-RAI Principles have proved to be a relevant tool used as a policy framework and translated into practice based on different contexts and needs by different stakeholders, at regional and national level, as presented by Vanida Khumnirdpetch, Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (Thailand) and Dr. Deo Temba, representative of the Private Sector Mechanism.

Everyone agreed on the importance of constant collaboration and dialogue across the different sectors to improve the currently unsettling findings, and on the proposal to continue efforts to promote the implementation of the CFS-RAI Principles at all levels. This overarching message was aptly summed up by H.E. Christian Hofer, State Secretary of Switzerland who emphasized that transformative change is only happening if there is the right and more investment. “It is not only about the quantity but also about the quality of investments”, he added.

On the same day, a side event on “Promoting Responsible and Climate Smart Investment in Agriculture in Southeast Asia through Multistakeholder Approaches” was organized by the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network, FAO, the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Grow Asia, the International Institute for Sustainable Development to showcase examples of actions undertaken to improve investment in the region, following the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry which have been developed on the basis of the CFS-RAI Principles and adapted to the priorities of ASEAN countries.

Additional resources

Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems

Analysis of the contributions received for the call for experiences in using the CFS-RAI Principles  

Conclusions of the Global Thematic Event included in the draft report: Fiftieth Session “Making a Difference in Food Security and Nutrition”

Guide on incentives for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems

Responsible investments in agriculture and food systems – A practical handbook for parliamentarians and parliamentary advisors

Recording of the side event “Promoting Responsible and Climate Smart Investment in Agriculture in Southeast Asia through Multistakeholder Approaches" (passcode: CSFSE18+)

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