Blog – CFS53 SIDE EVENT: Financing Agrifood Systems Transformation

At the 53rd Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS53), the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) convened a high-level side event on the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations to address a critical question: how to mobilize and align investments to transform agrifood systems for a sustainable future.

Opened by FAO Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina, the event highlighted the urgent need to double global efforts to transform agrifood systems, strengthen multilateral cooperation, and mobilize investments at scale amid declining ODA and weakening international solidarity.

Speakers stressed that public financing must play a catalytic role, with resources repurposed for greater impact and coordination strengthened to ensure efficiency and coherence. Treating financing as an ecosystem, they called for integrated approaches that combine public, private and blended finance mechanisms that truly serve small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and rural actors.

While blended finance remains a promising entry point, participants called for greater focus on least developed and frontier markets despite higher risks. Policymakers also urged stronger communication of scalable success stories to attract more and better funding, while development banks were recognized as key players in ensuring that finance is effectively channelled through country-driven, collaborative frameworks.

FAO presented its multi-partner trust funds as proven tools to enhance coordination and reduce transaction costs, and Norway reaffirmed the importance of scaling up agrifood system investments through stronger prioritization and donor coordination.

The GDPRD was commended as a unique mechanism for convening partners, sustaining dialogue, and advancing a renewed multilateral approach to financing agrifood systems transformation.

Chris Isaac, Chief Investment Officer, AgDevCo

Pioneering agribusinesses in frontier markets can generate substantial development benefits such as job creation, but they need patient capital and supportive policies. Donor engagement in blended finance should prioritize high-impact frontier markets rather than focusing solely on leverage ratios. More success stories should be shared to demonstrate the transformative power of blended finance.

Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit, DG INTPA, European Commission

Bilateral donors remain vital catalysts if they pursue strategic, win-win partnerships in value chains like cocoa, coffee and blue foods. He also called for greater coordination and communication of success stories to attract innovative finance and address fragility. Donors must adapt to geopolitical and sustainability challenges while remaining results-oriented and scalable.

Ron Hartman, Director, Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization, IFAD
Hartman urged development banks to collaborate through joint risk-sharing, harmonized frameworks, and country-driven approaches targeting fragile areas. He called for reframing from aid to investment and linking food systems to climate, peace, and economic stability under a unified, politically backed narrative to mobilize meaningful finance at scale.

Mari Matsumoto, Portfolio Manager, UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office
Matsumoto highlighted how UN Multi-Partner Trust Funds (MPTFs) reduce fragmentation and foster coordination across donors, banks and private investors. She cited Suriname, where an initial $25 million investment leveraged $117 million to support smallholder farmers and agribusiness, demonstrating how MPTFs align actors and achieve system-wide impact.

Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, GDPRD
Investing in the future of food systems yields immense long-term returns but requires new ways of mobilizing and combining finance. Radically innovative financing mechanisms and business models are essential to unlock investment in food systems transformation.

Photos by FAO/Gefu Yang and GDPRD