Our Thematic Work
United Nations’ Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development puts agriculture and rural development in a new perspective. The sustainable development goals confirmed the centrality of food security in sustainable development and the need for more responsible and efficient use of natural resources, social integration, economic growth and employment generation.
Our workstreams
The GDPRD continues to proactively respond to emerging issues around donor coordination to transform food systems. With a results-based mandate, the Platform’s workstreams shift gradually over time to ensure attention on the issues most pertinent to sustainable agricultural and rural development, food security, and food systems transformation.
Currently, our three workstreams are dedicated to donor coordination, innovative/blended finance, and data. These three foci are closely interrelated, and guide the Platform’s activities and concentrations. Each workstream has a clear objective, work plan and timeline with usable deliverables for the donor community and wider rural development networks.
Donor coordination for food systems transformation
Donor efforts are crucial for food systems transformation, and increasing food crises and insecurity underline the need for improved donor coordination and alignment, particularly at the country level.
Innovative finance
A consultation on how to make donors and public funding more catalytic for food systems through innovative financing approaches. The Platform has engaged the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate to design and execute this workstream.
Better data for food systems and rural development
Better coordination among donors and international organizations on data initiatives on agriculture and food security, to better inform strategic decisions on funding such data initiatives with a view to making these more impactful.
Thematic Working Groups
Agriculture and rural development constitute highly complex systems which require long-term strategies. The increased focus on approaches which capture these complexities bring opportunities for broader policy coherence and concerted action. The Platform has always recognised the importance of knowledge sharing amongst development partners and of appraising the impact of the new global agenda on the member organisations’ modus operandi.
The Platform focuses on several political entry points that can directly contribute to a more comprehensive approach to sustainable development of the rural space, namely rural youth employment, land governance and a roadmap to SDG 2. These three Thematic Working Groups gather donors in all three fields to share knowledge, develop agendas and combine advocacy efforts.
Land Governance
The Global Working Group on Land is committed to increase the coordination and knowledge exchange on land governance programmes and jointly advocate the relevance of land issues in policy processes which affect international development.
© IFAD/Chris McMorrow
Rural Youth Employment
Youth are at the heart of the future of agriculture, food production and rural development, but it requires inclusive strategies that help making agriculture and rural livelihoods more attractive for them.
© Fidisoa Ramanahadray
SDG2 Roadmap
Ending hunger and malnutrition has been a priority for many donors for at least a decade. Over the last two years, an informal group of senior officials from different donor agencies active in agriculture, food and nutrition security has come together to exchange views on how to continue efforts within the framework of SDG2.1.
©IFAD/Francesco Cabras
Confronting Crises Together
The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development has an important role to play in facilitating information and knowledge sharing within the donor community and with our development partners. This is especially crucial during global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the current global food price crisis. Effective dialogue and information exchange help international organisations address the impacts of policies and strategies on food security and rural development to build long-term resilience.
