Partners
Teaming up to achieve impact at scale
Partnerships are vital in the fight against poverty and hunger. For more than 50 years, FAO has teamed up with governments, international financing institutions, national and international organizations, UN agencies, the private sector and producer organizations to increase and enhance investment in food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development.
FAO’s investment support draws on the Organization’s vast technical knowledge
and expertise, normative work, innovative approaches and strong policy, analytical and capacity development capabilities.
Support to public and private investment
The FAO Investment Centre is the corporate focal point for partnerships with major international financing institutions. By working mainly through three-way strategic partnerships with member countries and international financing institutions, FAO is able to achieve impact at scale.
The Investment Centre has cooperative work agreements with over 30 financing and other institutions investing in agriculture.
Three stand out as main partners – namely the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
New partnerships are being strengthened, like the ones with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), or rekindled, as is the case with the African and Asian Development Banks.
FAO’s non-financial partners include the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). FAO is also an accredited member of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Since 1964, FAO has helped mobilize more than USD 127 billion in investment for agriculture and rural development, with about USD 122 billion of that from international financing institutions.
The World Bank – The World Bank, which aims to end extreme poverty within a generation and boost shared prosperity, is our largest partner, engaging roughly 60 percent of total staff time. World Bank lending to all sectors and to Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) in particular has been on the increase since 2013, an average of USD 40 million yearly. FAO has helped design more than half of all ARD investment operations financed by the Bank.
Of the World Bank Group’s five institutions, FAO works with the: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries; International Development Association (IDA), which helps the world’s poorest countries; and International Finance Corporation (IFC), which focuses on the private sector in developing countries.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) − A specialized agency of the United Nations, IFAD is dedicated to eradicating poverty, hunger and malnutrition in rural areas of developing countries. IFAD works closely with rural women and men to develop opportunities for improving their access to financial services, markets, technology, land and other natural resources. IFAD’s work with FAO focuses on helping the rural poor increase their food production, raise their incomes and improve their health, nutrition, education and quality of life.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – As EBRD helps the economies of Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean become market-driven, it is distinctive among FAO’s partners for its concentration on private sector development. EBRD finances agro-industrial and agromarketing ventures, which build market opportunities for farmers throughout the region. Ensuring that all its development activities are environmentally sound and sustainable is central to the Bank’s mission.
Global Environment Facility (GEF) - FAO is an implementing agency of the GEF, an international co-financing mechanism that provides grants to countries to invest in global environmental projects addressing the critical nexus between agriculture and the environment. This includes climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, international waters and chemicals.
African Development Bank (AfDB) – The AfDB works to stimulate sustainable economic development and social progress in its member countries as a means to reduce poverty and improve living conditions. Small-scale farmers are important to agriculture in Africa, yet they have received only a small share of agricultural investment. AfDB supports efforts to enhance rural livelihoods through investment in improved agricultural infrastructure and natural resources management.
List of all partners