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According to the 2022 SOFI report, acute food insecurity is on the rise, with up to 828 million people who go to bed hungry every night. The drivers are rooted in a multi-layered crisis that includes climate change, conflict, and COVID-19. At this time of urgent need and strong global commitments, transformative investments targeted at smallholder farmers are more relevant than ever.

Evidence shows that smallholder farmers can support their own income and productivity growth when they come together to combine their efforts through farmers’ or producer organizations. Smallholder farmers are entrepreneurs, innovators, transformers, conservers, adapters, and thought leaders. Rooted in this belief, GAFSP and IFAD have made it one of their missions to work more directly and closely with producer organizations. 

This event will highlight the importance and the advantage of investing in producer organizations to enable their members to become their own change agents, enabling them to make effective decisions about their businesses and improve their livelihoods. Through examples, this event will speak to how producer organization-led investments and initiatives offer a complementary and effective delivery channel to address crises, as demonstrated during COVID-19.

Speakers

Introduction:

• Kathryn Hollifield, GAFSP Program Manager
• Marco Camagni, Global Senior Technical Lead Rural Institutions, IFAD

Opening Remarks: 

• Corry Van Gaal, Deputy Director for Global Affairs, Canada, and Chair of GAFSP Steering Committee
• Luis Rodriguez, European Commission

Co-Moderators: 

• Alberta Guerra, Senior Policy Advisor, ActionAid USA
• Constance Okeke, Project Manager for Public Finance of Agriculture, ActionAid International

Panel Discussion:

• Representative from the National Coordination of Farmer Organisation (CNOP) in Mali
• Annick Sezibera, Executive Secretary of the Confederation of Associations of Agricultural Producers for Development (CAPAD) in Burundi 
• Fanny Grandval, Senior Regional Technical Officer Rural Institutions, IFAD
• Representative from the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)
• Member of the team from the Decade on Family Farming

Closing Remarks: Ibrahima Coulibaly, President of the Network of Farmers’ Organizations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa (ROPPA)