To transform global agri-food systems by 2030, about $680 billion in funding is needed every year, but the effectiveness of international programs will depend not only on the amount of funds, but also on the access of farmers and agribusinesses to funding, markets and economic incentives.
As SEEDS reports, the issue of funding was discussed in Rome during the FAO Global Conference "Actions in One Health in Agrifood Systems", which took place September 21-23 and was devoted to the implementation of the "One Health" approach in agro-food systems.
According to the FAO, the annual need for financing the transformation of agro-food systems in low- and middle-income countries is about $680 billion. Of this amount, approximately $425-426 billion should go directly to investments, another $255 billion to social protection systems.
International expert on sustainable agriculture and agri-food systems, founder of Sapienza.media Kateryna Zvereva, who participated in the conference, emphasized that the amount of international funding alone does not guarantee the result if the resources do not reach the direct producers.
We can develop effective environmental and veterinary solutions, but they will not become mass practice if the farmer does not have access to financing, sales markets and economic incentives to implement them," she said in a comment SEEDS.
Rwanda became one of the examples of effective fundraising. About $25 million in financing from the Pandemic Fund was accompanied by approximately $160 million in additional resources and related investments. The program aims to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, early warning systems and coordination between human and animal health services. FAO, WHO and UNICEF are involved in its implementation.
The conference also discussed programs in Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, where the One Health approach is used to combine veterinary safety, health care, food safety and agricultural production support. Participants emphasized that animal diseases, climate risks and water problems often transcend individual states and require regional investment programs.
The reduction of international aid remains a separate problem. Representatives of the European Commission drew attention to the need to involve the World Bank, IFC, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and private capital more widely in financing, since grant resources are not enough for a large-scale transformation of the agricultural sector. these approaches are of particular importance due to the need to simultaneously restore agricultural production, infrastructure, the veterinary system, water resources and adapt the sector to EU norms.
According to Zvereva, international programs should be available not only to large institutions, but also directly to agricultural enterprises, cooperatives and small producers. In her opinion, farmers should be involved in the development of such programs at the planning stage, since they are the ones who can assess the real cost of introducing new technologies and the economic risks for farms.
FAO also emphasizes that without the involvement of the private sector, financial institutions and direct producers, it will be impossible to overcome the global financing deficit of agri-food systems.
Source: SEEDS - "$680 billion for agro-food transformation systems"
