FAO and the Government of Mauritania launch project to stimulate responsible investment by youth in agriculture
On January 23 to 24 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Promotion of Productive Sectors, organized an event to launch the project "Stimulating responsible investment in agriculture and food systems by young agri-entrepreneurs for the promotion of territorial development and strengthening of value chains", which will be implemented in Mauritania and Tunisia throughout 2023 with funds from the FAO’s Flexible Voluntary Contribution.
The project will support Mauritania recover from the critical effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shown the vulnerability of its food systems. It will also contribute at strengthening territorial development and local value chains at a time when the war in Ukraine is likely to have aggravating repercussions on food security in Mauritania, given its dependence on imports of cereal products on the world market.
The participants in the event included representatives of diverse Mauritanian ministries and public institutions, FAO representatives in the country as well as the project managers that will coordinate the implementation of the project. During the opening, FAO Representative a.i in Mauritania, Kinday Samba noted that “stimulating responsible investment in agrifood systems is imperative in order to modernize the country’s agricultural sector, strengthen producer organizations and create decent jobs, especially for youth.”
In Mauritania, the project has two main components. First, strengthening the capacities of policy makers to integrate the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) into processes and policies. The CFS-RAI are a voluntary international instrument, developed through an open multi-stakeholder process, that sets out 10 principles that cover all aspects of the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of investment. Second, training trainers and mentors so they can better accompany young agri-entrepreneurs launch and sustain their responsible businesses in the context of incubation programmes.
Abdoulaye Diop, Communications Advisor from the National Agency for Employment (TECHGHIL), highlighted the timeliness of the intervention noting that: “Mauritania is fully grasping the importance of enhancing responsible investment in agri-food systems (RAI) and is seeking to set up incubators and coaching programmes out of Nouakchott.” At the same time, the Ministry of Economy is promoting the mediation between larger-scale investors and local communities through a dedicated Technical Committee with respected experts. Hence, the capacity development programme which intervenes on both aspects can make a critical contribution to enhancing the enabling environment for RAI in Mauritania.
The two-day event focused on presenting participants the FAO capacity development (CD) package to support the implementation of the CFS-RAI at global, regional and national levels. Following FAO’s capacity development methodology, participants discussed and identified the main learning needs of policy makers in relation to RAI, as well as the main topics that the upcoming learning programme needs to address and the relevant institutions that should be involved in the process.
The results of the prioritization exercise, as well of the group discussion, will inform the design of a learning curriculum that will be developed in subsequent weeks. In particular, the importance of stakeholder consultation and participation in relation to governance, and the importance of enabling young people to access inputs and technical support services, as well as providing them with the means to benefit from large-scale investment in agribusiness were identified as priority themes for Mauritania.
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