FAO organized an inception workshop to kick off the implementation of its blended learning programme “Creating an enabling environment for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems”. The workshop took place simultaneously in Monrovia (Liberia) and Freetown (Sierra Leone) on Monday 7 September bringing together policy-makers and government staff from relevant ministries and institutions related to agricultural investment, as well as development partners.

“If the first two of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - ending poverty and hunger- are to be achieved in Liberia, then more and better responsible private-sector investments in agriculture and foods systems have to be rallied and sustained,” said Octavius Quarbo, Assistant FAO Representative for Programme in Liberia during the event in the country.

“Responsible” investment in agriculture refers to investments that sustainably benefit livelihoods, the environment, and communities, following the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS RAI). The CFS RAI constitutes the first global agreement of what is a responsible investment in the sector. It was endorsed by the Committee of World Food Security in 2014.

Indeed, agriculture and rural development are two of the best available driving forces for eliminating hunger and poverty and addressing the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, achieving the first two SDGs calls for a significant increase in responsible agricultural investment in both countries.

To achieve this, FAO’s customized learning programme will work hand in hand with policy makers in order to strengthen their capacities to inform institutional, policy, and legal and incentive frameworks related to responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. This approach looks at empowering and equipping them with the tools they need to play a catalytic role in fostering the much-needed enabling environment for responsible investment.

“I look forward to this training because as a policy maker I would like to see how we can create an investment environment and also ensure sufficient linkages between foreign direct investment and our local economy. It is my hope that we have the opportunity to look at the regulatory framework for investments to thrive,” said Fodeba Daboh, the Director of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency.  

The blended learning programme is organized in a one-month online phase, a two-day face-to-face workshop, followed by a month of mentorship activities. It will build the capacities of approximately 35 policy makers from ministries, agencies and commissions involved in processes of the promotion and regulation of both small and large-scale investments in agriculture and food systems.

The learning programme will result in the development of individual and country-level action plans to guide the process of creating the enabling environment to increase responsible agricultural investment.

This learning programe is financed by the Federal Government of Germany and was designed in collaboration with Welthungerhilfe Sierra Leone and (WHH) ZOA Liberia.

More information about the course:

• Creating an enabling environment for agriculture and food systems – fundamentals
• Creating an enabling environment for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems - Analysis