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Background
The 2025 Annual General Assembly (AGA) which will take place on Friday 12 December 2025 on the European Commission premises in Brussels, Belgium.
The AGA is the Donor Platform’s flagship event, bringing together members, partners and experts to exchange knowledge, shape strategic priorities and collaborate on advancing sustainable agriculture and rural development.
This year, participants and panellists are invited to collectively reflect on and develop approaches to financing for food systems in this unpredictable global context, under the theme: “Investing in the Future of Agrifood Systems: New Directions for Development Finance.”
The GDPRD Secretariat and the European Commission look forward to welcoming you to the AGA 2025.
Moderator: Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, GDPRD
Agenda
8:15–9:00
Registration
9:00-9:20
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Bruce Campbell, GDPRD co-Chair; Senior Policy Advisor, Food Systems Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Focal Point, SDC Agriculture and Food Systems Network, Switzerland
Federica de Gaetano, GDPRD co-Chair; Food Security and Rural Development Expert, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)
9:20-9:35
Keynote Address
Prioritizing agrifood systems amid upheaval in development finance
Alexander Müller, Founder and Managing Director, TMG Think Tank and former Deputy Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
9:35-9:50
Donor Coordination and Multilateralism in Agrifood Systems Financing
GDPRD High-Level Advisory Group and White Paper
Aligning strategies and strengthening coherent agrifood financing mechanisms
Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit, Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Fisheries, Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
Max von Bonsdorff, Chief Partnership Officer, Global and Multilateral Engagement, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
9:50-11:20
High-Level Discussion Panel
Evolving roles in a fragmented aid landscape: Navigating ODA reductions and financial reforms, expanding private sector engagement, and building effective collaborative financing mechanisms
Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, FAO
Carlo Batori, Deputy Director-General, Directorate General for Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy
Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN
Alice Ruhweza, President, AGRA
Tom Arnold, Chair, IARDC
Stefania Lenoci, World Bank Group Resident Representative to Italy
11:20-11:45
Coffee break
11:45-13:00
Catalysing Finance and Impact for Agrifood Systems
Strengthening coordination among private sector, development finance, and government actors at the country level
Tim Diphoorn, One Acre Fund
Rodrigo Madrazo, CEO, EDFI Management Company
Songbae Lee, Independent Advisor and former Agricultural Finance Team Lead, USAID
Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, Assistant Director General, Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS)
Alexandre Rutikanga, Chief Technical Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), Republic of Rwanda; UN Food Systems Member State National Dialogue Convenor
13:00-14:30
Lunch
14:30-15:30
The Future of Youth in Agrifood Systems
Joint session by the Land and Rural Youth Working Groups
Ward Anseeuw, FAO
Elisabetta Cangelosi, Gender Justice Advisor, International Land Coalition (ILC)
Evance Ochola, YPARD / Nutrika / YGAK
John F. Kelvin, Fellow of the International Land Coalition young leadership program
Marcos Montoiro, UNCCD
15:30-15:45
Coffee break
15:45–17:15
Multilateral and Geopolitical Dynamics of Agrifood Systems Financing
Outcomes from 2025: Key policy developments, summit commitments, and financing trends
Priorities for 2026
Nikita Eriksen-Hamel, Global Affairs Canada
Anas A. Al-Nabulsi, CFS Chair
Sandra Bartelt, Principal Adviser for G7 and G20 Sustainable Development Agendas, European Commission, Directorate-General for International Partnerships
Clara Albergaria Pacheco, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Identify catalytic financing approaches that enable donors and Public Development Banks (PDBs) to scale systemic transformation in food systems.
Engage in an interactive, forward-looking dialogue on how to sustain and expand financing for food systems amid crises and declining development budgets.
Collaborate across the thematic areas of rural youth employment and land governance in a joint session that connects insights and priorities across sectors.
Assess the implications of major 2025 global events and platforms for the future of food systems finance and the collective donor agenda.
Network and build partnerships with leaders, experts and peers.
Whether you join us in person in Brussels or virtually from anywhere in the world, your participation and perspectives will be invaluable in shaping forward-looking approaches to development finance and rural development. Please register now to confirm your participation. For in-person attendance, kindly register before Friday, 5 December.
