Prioritizing Financing for Food Systems Transformation: Options and Trade-offs

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Transforming global food systems to become more sustainable, resilient, nutritious, and equitable requires a fundamental reorientation of financial policy and investment priorities, particularly in the context of growing fiscal constraints and environmental pressures. This high-level side event, convened by CGIAR and IFPRI, will examine policy and funding pathways for aligning public and private capital with food systems transformation in low- and middle-income countries.

The session will open with the presentation of new CGIAR research that offers a decision-making framework to guide strategic investment in science, innovation, and institutional capacity and market incentives needed to induce farmers and food sector operators to adopt improved sustainable technologies and practices. It will then turn to an evidence-based policy discussion on how to (a) create new incentive structures to reallocate existing finance, including through the repurposing of existing public support to agriculture, and, (b) leverage new, alternative financing instruments, such as blended finance mechanisms, incentives for de-risking finance, green bonds, and private value-chain finance, aiming to provide adequate finance for sustainable agrifood system transformation.

Special attention will be given to how new private-public  partnerships and financial innovation can be harnessed to scale up context-specific solutions, while ensuring coherence with national development strategies and global commitments such as the 2030 Ageda for Sustainable Development post-SDG Agenda, the 2023 COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, the Food Finance Architecture and Financing Imperatives defined at the UN Food System Summit of 2021, the Pact for Future and the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034.

A dynamic panel discussion will follow, featuring insights from multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions, impact investors, and government leaders. The panel will critically examine the trade-offs and synergies across financing approaches, with particular attention to the catalytic role MDBs and national development banks can play in de-risking investments, aligning capital flows with national priorities, and scaling innovations in food systems.

The discussion will address how blended finance, public-private co-investment models, and targeted policy interventions can be structured to maximize development impact. By unpacking the institutional, financial, and governance dimensions of food systems financing, the session aims to provide actionable guidance for policymakers and financial actors seeking to deploy capital effectively and equitably in support of sustainable food system transformation.

Target Audience: Government representatives, development finance institutions, impact investors, private sector actors, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders interested in financing sustainable development.

Event objectives / details: To explore different financing mechanisms for food system transformation in an environment with increasingly scarce resources, highlight the inherent trade-offs, and identify pathways for effective and impactful investment.

Agenda

16:30 – 16:40

Welcome and Opening Remarks 

• Moderator:
• Opening remarks:
  • Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI
  • CGIAR global partner (WB, IFAD, regional development bank)

16:40 – 17:00

Setting the Stage with CGIAR Research for Investment Showcase

• A framework for prioritizing food systems investments with results for 10+ countries: James Thurlow, IFPRI and CGIAR Policy Innovations Program
• Repurposing subsidies to fund food system transformation? Ruth Hill, IFPRI CGIAR Policy Innovations Program
• Innovative financing and non-traditional partnerships to support the scaling of science-backed innovations (Representative from the CGAIR Scaling for Impact Program)
• The role of capital markets and blended finance for food system transformation: Godefroy Grosjean, ABC and CGIAR Hub for Sustainable Finance

17:00 – 17:40

Panel Discussion: Exploring Financing Options and Trade-offs 

• Development Finance Institution (DFI) Representative: To discuss their role in prioritizing investments and providing large-scale financing for sustainable agriculture and food systems (TBD).
• Impact Investor: To share insights on mobilizing private capital for impact, navigating trade-offs between financial returns and development outcomes for food system transformation: Deniz Harut CEO AGRI3 (tbc).
• Government Representative (from a developing country, ideally Minister of Finance and/or Agriculture): To discuss national strategies for financing food system transformation, policy incentives, and the role of public-private partnerships (TBD).

17:40 – 17:55

Interactive Q&A with the Audience 

17:55 – 18:00

Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Registration