CFS 53 Side Event 32 – 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

Ambassador and Special Envoy, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Head of Area Office, Cox’s Bazar, WFP Bangladesh

Senior Partnership Officer, IFAD. Secretariat Coordinator, GDPRD


Head of UN Collaboration, 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); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

INTRODUCTION

Marking the UN’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. 

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

Drawing on insights from the GDPRD High-Level Advisory Group and its 2025 White Paper Financing Agrifood Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity, 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. 

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 donors  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 Norway’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 – 11:50 Welcome and scene-setting

Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, GDPRD

11:50 – 11:55 Introductory key messages

Maurizio Martina, Deputy-General, FAO (TBC)

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

Interactive discussion

Chris Isaac, Chief Investment Officer, AgDevCo

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

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

Representative, UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (TBD)

12:15 – 12:35 Examples/Solutions: Stories from the field and lessons learned

Presentation of case studies

Emmanuela Mashayo, Head of Area Office, Cox's Bazar, WFP Bangladesh

Representative, Bangladesh (TBD)

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

12:35 – 12:50 Interactive Q&A
12:50 – 13:00 Reflections and closing remarks

Maurizio Navarra, Senior Partnership Officer, IFAD. Secretariat Coordinator, GDPRD

Arsen Vartanyan, Head of UN Collaboration, 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