Increasing investment in agriculture is one of the most effective strategies to reduce hunger and poverty. However, not all investments are equally beneficial. It is crucial that they have a triple performance, generating returns for investors while benefiting communities and preserving the environment.

In this spirit, FAO spearheads in various countries the application of the Principles for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. This internationally agreed instrument provides guidance on processes, practices and norms related to making investments responsible, thus contributing to sustainable development.

Governments play a critical role in promoting and stimulating triple performance responsible investments while minimizing the risk of the occurrence of less responsible investments. One particularly efficient strategy to do so is to screen investments at the early stage of the investment consideration process, prior to binding commitments and approvals. Efficient screening of investments and investors allows to identify risks before they occur, hardship or financial losses been incurred, or the environment damaged, resulting in significant cost savings for governments, investors and communities.

FAO and the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment (CCSI) have jointly developed a screening tool for investment projects for use by investment promotion agencies in target countries. The tool is going to be tested in Senegal with the support of the Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR) for large scale investments, and the National Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment  (ANPEJ) for smallholders, SME’s and Youth investments.

From 25 to 27 April, FAO and IPAR co-organized the workshop entitled "Promotion of responsible investment in agriculture and food systems and the strengthening of screening criteria" brought together government and non-governmental actors to discuss and analyze the legal and institutional framework regulating agricultural investments in Senegal in light of the CFS-RAI principles and the screening tool.

During the opening, FAO Capacity Development Officer Yannick Fiedler, speaking on behalf of FAO Representative Robert Guei, informed that because of COVID-19 "nearly 100 million additional workers and their households have fallen below the poverty line in Africa, while 248 million people are facing undernourishment in the continent". To this he added, "Africa's GDP is down by more than 2%, due to the combined effects of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, climate change, depletion of natural resources, etc. In this context, a paradigm shift to produce more with less is crucial".

Alassane Seck, IPAR's Agricultural Policy and Capacity Building Officer, stressed that: "responsible investment in agriculture is one of the pillars of food sovereignty. It is urgent for all countries, including Senegal, to strengthen their governance system for responsible agricultural investment.”

Speaking on behalf of the private sector, the Advisor to the President of the Dakar Chamber of Commerce, Moustapha Ka, stressed the crucial role that the private sector can play in Senegal's food sovereignty through a more substantial contribution to investment in agriculture. "However, the private sector will only be able to commit to this national effort to promote responsible agricultural investment if they are assured of a return on their investment." In this light, Mr. Ka highlighted that "public investment must be directed towards creating an attractive environment for the private sector, through structuring investments in the territories, more flexible legislation and regulations.”

Yves Lamine Ciss, mayor of Mont-Rolland, stressed that both family farms and agribusiness are needed in order to ensure food security in Senegal. He also touched upon the pressing issue of attracting youth to the agricultural sector: "we need to work to make agriculture more attractive to young people and to encourage private sector confidence".

Mr. Ardo Sow, in charge of advocacy at ENDA PRONAT and representative of civil society, pointed out a number of contradictions in Senegal, including "the issue of land grabbing by multinationals to the detriment of family farmers, a large part of agricultural production destined for export, the allocation of land for the cultivation of agrofuels "at a time when the country is investing billions to import food.

This three-day open dialogue was an opportunity to share the views of the different stakeholders that are familiar with the procedures and institutions for approving agricultural investments in Senegal. The joint analysis conducted will be the starting point to identify opportunities and conditions for the application of the screening tool in the Senegalese context.