in partnership with the World Bank Group, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agriculture Development
About this session
Achieving Zero Hunger (SDG2) requires significant increases in investment in agricultural value chains. At the same time, international investment in agriculture comes with a broad range of social, economic, and environmental challenges. The inter-agency working group (IAWG) of UNCTAD, the World Bank Group, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agriculture Development has worked together for a decade to improve understanding and provide recommendations on how to maximize the benefits of international investment in agriculture while minimizing the risks. The high-level meeting will present the lessons learned from the application in the field of responsible agricultural investment principles, and assess relevant policy dimensions and future policy-oriented research and work directions.
Issues for the debate
- How can private investment in agricultural value chains best contribute to the SDGs?
- What are the main challenges to ensuring a positive contribution and what solutions are most effective?
- How can the lessons from the IAWG’s experience be used to improve the outcomes of private investment in agricultural value chains?
Speakers
Ms. Gerda Verburg
UN Assistant Secretary General, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement
Mr. Greg S. Garrett
Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
Mr. James X. Zhan
Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
H.E. Mr. Veng Sakhon
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Mr. Daniel Hulls
CEO, AgDevCo
Mr. Eytan Stibbe
CEO, Vital Capital Fund
Mr. Saran Song
Chairman and CEO, AMRU Rice Cambodia
Mr. Shenggen Fan
Director-General, International Food Policy Research Institute
Mr. Martien Van Nieuwkoop
Director, World Bank Group
Ms. Marcela Villarreal
Director, Food and Agriculture Organization
Mr. Alvaro Lario
IFAD Associate Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Controller, Financial Operations Department
Ms. Iris Krebber
Head of Agriculture, Directorate General for Economic Development and International, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
Ms. Angelica Rotondaro
Founding Member, Alimi Impact Ventures
Ms. Carin Smaller
Senior Policy Advisor and Team Leader, Agriculture and Investment