CFS 53 Side Event SE32 – Financing Agrifood Systems Transformation: Aligning multilateral, public and private investments

11:45-13:00 CET | 24 October 2025 | Hybrid | Iran Room, FAO HQ, Rome, Italy

Speakers (confirmed)


Deputy Director-General, FAO


Head of Unit, Directorate General for International Partnerships, European Commission


Director, Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization, IFAD


Chief Investment Officer, AgDevCo

Fund Portfolio Manager, UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office


Country Director, WFP, Bangladesh


Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh


Ambassador and Special Envoy, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs


Communications Coordination Analyst, GDPRD


Director, Division of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety, FAO

Moderator

Jim Woodhill

Senior Advisor, GDPRD

CO-ORGANIZERS

Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);ย International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

INTRODUCTION

Marking the UNโ€™s 80th anniversary, this side event will reaffirm the importance of doubling down the global communities efforts on agrifood systems, strengthening multilateralism at a time of mounting global crises, declining official development assistance, and weakening international cooperation. It will spotlight the transformation of agrifood systems as a cornerstone for achieving prosperity, wellbeing, and global security.ย 

The session will highlight how blended publicโ€“private investment and multilateral pooled funding mechanisms can serve as complementary drivers to mobilize resources and deliver sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agrifood systems.ย 

Drawing on insights from the GDPRD High-Level Advisory Group and its 2025 White Paper โ€œFinancing Agrifood Systems for People, Planet and Prosperityโ€, the event will explore strategic recommendations to scale investment and align donor strategies.

At the heart of this event is a clear call to action: Agrifood systems must become a top-tier investment priority.ย 

THE DISCUSSIONS WILL:

  • Elevate agrifood systems as a smart investment, and mobilize support for more coherent, scalable and country-driven financing approaches that prioritize integrated, cross-sectoral solutions, including the brokering of collaborative agrifood financing agreements to align actors and scale investment.

  • Demonstrate the value and effectiveness of pooling funds from UN agencies and donorsย  in driving efficiency and country-prioritized action, using a field example: the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy Plus, Phase 2 (SAFE+2) joint programme in Bangladesh, implemented by four UN agencies and funded through a Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) with Norwayโ€™s support.

By convening governments, UN agencies, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and the private sector, the session will demonstrate how coordinated approaches can reduce fragmentation and catalyse large-scale, sustainable investment. In celebrating 80 years of the UN, the event will chart a forward-looking vision of joint action and financing for more equitable and food-secure futures.

Provisional agenda
Moderator: Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, GDPRD
11:45 โ€“ 11:50Welcome and scene-setting

Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, GDPRD

11:50 โ€“ 11:55Introductory key messages

Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General, FAO

11:55 โ€“ 12:15Broader context: Strategic alignment of blended public-private and multilateral investments

Interactive discussion

Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit, Directorate General for International Partnerships, European Commission

Ron Hartman,ย Director, Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization (IFAD)

Chris Isaac, Chief Investment Officer, AgDevCo

Mari Matsumoto, Fund Portfolio Manager, UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office

12:15 โ€“ 12:35Examples/Solutions: Stories from the field and lessons learned

Presentation of case studies

Dom Scalpelli, Country Director, WFP Bangladesh

Dr. Md. Mahmudur Rahman, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh

Paul Gulleik Larsen, Ambassador and Special Envoy, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

12:35 โ€“ 12:50Interactive Q&A
12:50 โ€“ 13:00Reflections and closing remarks

Michelle Tang, Communications Coordination Analyst, GDPRD

Corinna Hawkes, Director, Division of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety, FAO

CONTACT | GDPRD

Maurizio Navarra

Secretariat Coordinator at the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Rome/Italy

CONTACT | GDPRD

Michelle Tang

Secretariat Communications at the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Rome/Italy