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The Platform was born from the recognition that, in a world of competing development agendas and limited funding, no single agency can address all the needs of the rural poor. We are resolved to actually move beyond mere information-sharing schemes to foster real donor harmonisation and alignment through improved coordination. Our activities and publications are drawing from the manifold resources of our Full Member and Associate Member Organisations and constitute a truly international and multilateral initiative. This alliance of complementary strengths, skills and experience is also reflected in our organisational structure.
Our central decision-making body is the Platform Board – headed by the Platform Chairman and consisting of the Focal Points of all Full Members. Currently these are the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID), the Directorate-General for Development of the European Commission (EC-DG DEV), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFA-F), the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), the United States Agency for International Cooperation (USAID) and the World Bank (WB).
The Board meets at least once a year to consider the long-term strategy of the Platform and to approve its annual budget, the annual work programme and the proposed activities to be financed from the Platform Trust Fund which holds the financial contributions of the Platform Members.
The Steering Committee consists of the Platform Vice-Chairman – acting as Chairman of the Steering Committee – and five Board members who are designated ad personam by the Board for a three-year period.
The Steering Committee’s main responsibility is to guide and supervise the day-to-day activities of the Platform Secretariat. It currently consists of the Focal Points of CIDA, DFID, EC-DG DEV, IFAD (Chairman), MFA-F and the World Bank.
The Secretariat is the central management unit of the Platform and is currently hosted by the BMZ in Bonn, Germany, and managed by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
Currently, we are building on the knowledge and experience of 10 Full Member Organisations and 21 Associate Member Organisations. Each of our Member and Associate Member Organisations appoints a Focal Point who is representing his/her organisation within the Platform network, actively participating in the formulation of joint policies, contributing to shared learning and speaking on behalf of the Platform at international events.
Membership in the Platform is voluntary and open to all donor countries, development agencies, multilateral organisations, international finance institutions and foundations working in the field of agriculture and rural development and only requires approval by the Board.
Partnerships with the Platform are open to other donor platforms or networks, farmers’ organisations, international or regional research institutions, civil society organisations and regional networks which share a common interest with the Platform.
Currently we are engaged in partnerships with 8 research institutions, global and regional networks and global initiatives in agriculture and rural development. |
