27 August 2018: In a new strategic alliance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) agreed to raise US$100 million in five years to catalyze investments in African agriculture to fight hunger and malnutrition and support economic development in Africa.

The new alliance will focus, among other objectives, on enhancing investments in food security, nutrition, social protection, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development with a view to assisting African countries in their efforts to achieve the SDGs. The two institutions will collaborate in leveraging investments in agriculture, including through public-private partnerships, to transform agriculture into a business.

The agreement envisions an initial contribution of US$15 million by the two institutions to set up a collaborative programme of action. The Programme will aim to improve AfDB’s investment operations, increase private public partnerships, improve investment climate and portfolio performance and joint resources mobilization. FAO’s contributions will focus on technical assistance in areas such as sustainable agricultural intensification and diversification, scaling up value chain innovations, youth in agriculture and agribusiness, agricultural statistics, and climate smart agriculture.

The two institutions also agreed to collaborate in the promotion of international policy tools, such as the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forest and the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, developed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

The initiative builds on the AfDB’s ‘Feed Africa’ strategy. Launched in 2015, this strategy aims to mobilize US$24 billion in African Agriculture within ten years by improving markets, agricultural policies, institutions and infrastructure, developing agricultural value chains and making improved technologies available to farmers.

The agreement was signed on 28 August 2018 by AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva during a meeting in Rom Italy. [FAO Press Release] [AfDB Press Release] [AfDB Feed Africa Strategy] [Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests] [Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems]