IFAD and Portugal share a deep commitment to ending rural poverty and hunger by supporting small farmers to improve their productivity and resilience. This was the overall message of the 1 March business seminar that took place in Lisbon at the Ministry of Agriculture organized by the Office of Planning, Policy and General Administration (GPP). The event aimed to strengthen collaboration between IFAD and the Government of Portugal, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and development partners from the private sector and public institutions. Luís Capoulas Santos, Portugal's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, gave the key note speech stating the importance of cooperation in safeguarding family agriculture and sustainable results of agriculture in the CPLP countries, playing a key role in supporting the efforts of the countries in the field of agriculture and food.
In October 2018, IFAD signed the Charter of Lisbon for the Strengthening of Family Farming, joining key stakeholders and the nine CPLP Member States to improve the livelihoods of small farmers throughout the Portuguese-speaking developing world. The Charter seeks to promote public policies that will strengthen smallholder farming and advance the 2030 Agenda. Small farmers account for up to 80 per cent of food produced in the developing world but are often the most vulnerable to hunger. The business seminar built on the principles of the Charter by engaging with stakeholders across sectors, including like-minded companies, towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Portuguese-speaking communities.
“As part of our drive to end poverty and achieve zero hunger, partnerships with the private sector are essential to meet the SDGs by 2030, which are at the core of IFAD’s mandate to invest in rural people,” said Charlotte Salford, Associate Vice-President for IFAD's External Relations and Governance Department.
During the event, Salford outlined various new instruments for collaboration with the private sector, including the recently launched Agri-Business Capital Fund (ABC Fund). The ABC Fund, initiated by IFAD, is a private impact investment fund that seeks to support rural small and medium enterprises in developing countries. By creating access to capital, the ABC Fund seeks to enable these enterprises to grow their businesses and create employment opportunities, especially for young people.
IFAD also met with various stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, and academia to identify concrete entry points for collaboration leveraging the institution’s portfolio. IFAD has a portfolio of approximately US$1.3 billion in CPLP countries that can be leveraged for investments in sustainable value chains that connect farmer organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises to markets. With the event, IFAD and Portugal further strengthened their partnership to accelerate the advancement of the SDGs in the coming decade.