Shamba Centre for Food & Climate

A review of 8 recent modelling reports of the additional investment needed for achieving #SDG2 by 2030 reveals a wide range of estimates: from a total of USD 86 billion to over USD 4 trillion payments. 🤔 Three of the eight reports are numbered in the trillions because they go beyond SDG 2 to include a range of other linked SDGs or focus on agri-food systems transformation. The remaining five reports are numbered in the billions because they focus on the SDG 2 sub-targets. However, even within the five reports focusing on SDG 2, the range is USD 86 billion to 760 billion. This is partly because of how many SDG 2 sub-targets are included, and the types of interventions modelled. But a closer look reveals that the devil can often be in the detail. 📑 👇 https://lnkd.in/e3YYzyiD #EndHunger #SOFI2024 IPCC The Lancet World Health Organization The World Bank Group Leo Meyer Line van Kesteren Noëmie Leprince-Ringuet Mark Howden Leonard Mizzi Jan Minx Thomas F. Stocker Detlef Van Vuuren Dylan Walters Jakub Kakietek Julia Dayton Eberwein

The launch of the #SOFI2024 report reminds us that we are far off track from achieving SDG 2 by 2030. The number of people who suffer from hunger has remained consistent over the past three years. We cannot continue along this trajectory. For this reason, it is all the more pertinent that the SOFI 2024 report focuses on finance. It reminds us that we need to review our financing approach and mobilise more resources to end hunger. During the first SOFI 2024 presentation at the #HLPF2024, the Irish Minister of State Ossian Smyth called on donors to make better use their resources. He suggested: ➡ Approaches that can catalyse and leverage private sector investment through blended finance instruments in the agriculture and food systems. ➡ Actions to de-risk agriculture through public-private partnerships and loan guarantees ➡ Continued reform of international financial institutions so they can deliver more and better concessional financing. 👏 We agree! These suggestions mirror the recommendations in our recent report, Unleashing the catalytic power of donor finance, that we published with the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development. In this report, we call for: ➡ Expanding the pool of blended finance ➡ Providing development financial institutions with dedicated funds that allow them to offer higher-risk loans and long-term credit lines ➡ Greater coordination and collaboration through a multi-donor working group If donors and DFIs take higher risks with their grants and lending, every donor dollar has the potential to mobilise four dollars in commercial finance. This is the catalytic power of aid. To read the report: https://lnkd.in/dsAkVwKc and technical note: https://lnkd.in/eZJSy3st

The latest figures from the SOFI 2024 report are grim with 734 million people facing hunger. This is a disaster that could have been avoided: we know how to end hunger and how much it will cost. To end hunger and malnutrition, Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the FAO, calls for: ➡ Greater financial coordination between partners, ➡ Increased activities to de-risk the agrifood sector, and ➡ More blended financing. This echoes the findings and recommendations from our recent enquiry on sustainable finance conducted that we conducted with the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development where we found that if donors and DFIs take higher risks with their grants and lending, every donor dollar has the potential to mobilize four dollars in commercial finance. Building on the momentum around SOFI 2024, we challenge the wider development community to innovate further in five areas: ➡ Outcome payments ➡ Increase the appetite of domestic lenders  ➡ Use sovereign wealth funds to anchor investments ➡ Credit risk scorecards ➡ Increase the risk-tolerance of DFIs Find our more about our ideas and contribution to SOFI 2024: https://lnkd.in/eFZdUi49 Read our joint report with the GDPRD: https://lnkd.in/dsAkVwKc Dr. Alvaro Lario Cindy McCain International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) World Food Programme Kamal El Harty Oshani Perera Carin Smaller Maurizio Navarra Michelle Tang Alessandro Cordova Songbae Lee Bruce Campbell

June 2024: El Niño continues to impact Southern Africa's harvest, exacerbating food insecurity.   Reduced harvests of staple crops such as maize and soybeans, coupled with high fertilizer prices under uncompetitive market conditions, have compounded the effects on maize production. 📉   🌽 For the first time in many years, Zambia will become a net importer of maize. In Malawi, fertilizer prices remain triple the world price, likely affecting the next maize planting season. Due to constrained supply and high demand, Malawi’s maize prices also continue to rise.   According to Agri Intelligence Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia face a total estimated maize deficit of 2.5 million Mt for the 2024/25 market year. Yet, Tanzania has an estimated excess supply of 4 million Mt of maize which could easily cover the maize deficit in these three countries. What is a solution: more regional trade. 💡   The AMO Tracker by Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) provides key price trends in East and Southern Africa. Stay updated on the market impacts on the ground ⤵ https://lnkd.in/ebqdp9Js #ElNiño #Zambia #maize #competition Heike Fickel Simon Roberts Arthur Mahuma Reena Das Nair Namhla Landani Fresh Produce Middle East & Africa Magazine William E. Daxon MARK LEATHERS Nicole Barlow Sanjoy Sanyal

The Shamba Centre is pleased to have contributed to this important work on defining food security and nutrition financing! 🕰 Stay tuned to find out more on 24 July...

An interesting question emerged during the FAO presentation of the key findings from the UN's State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (#SoFI) report during an #HLPF2024 side-event. What is the role of commercial interests in the global food supply chain? As Peter Schmidt from the European Economic and Social Committee noted, 4 companies control between 70-90% of the food commodity trade market. He called for better regulation of financial markets, increased transparency and more market players. Regulators have a key role in ensuring fair and open markets. However, as a recent Shamba Centre report notes, nearly half of Sub-Saharan African countries lack competition regulations and institutions. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eHq-yV6P Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) Jennifer Clapp Simon Roberts

Yesterday, our Executive Director of the Shamba Centre, Carin Smaller, joined Al Jazeera Media Network to discuss high food prices and climate change alongside George Monbiot and Thin Lei Win. Climate shocks - floods, droughts, cyclones - have become the new normal. However, we need to prevent that these shocks from transforming into crises by responding in ways to mitigate their impact. Smallholder farmers are the most vulnerable to these climate shocks and yet the least responsible and paying the highest prices. During the discussion, Carin recommended: ▶ Breaking up market concentration.  Doing so will ensure that more choice is available at the local, regional and global levels and reduce prices. Currently, farmers in Malawi pay 3x more for fertilizer compared with world prices. ▶ More trade options. When countries face a climate shock, they need to import. While Zambia and Malawi faced a drought and low maize production yields, Tanzania and Uganda benefited from healthy rainfalls which resulted in strong maize production. ▶ Climate finance for agriculture. Less than 1% of climate finance goes to smallholder farmers. This finance is needed to make farmers more resilient. ▶ A right mix of policies.  While high-income and emerging countries like India and China are consuming too much meat and dairy, low-income countries need to consume more animal products to avoid malnourishment. With Elizabeth Puranam on Inside Story. Watch here:https://lnkd.in/eAakJa4e

More financing is going to cash crops destined for export rather than food crops meant for domestic consumption. 🚨 And MSMEs, crucial for local food systems ensuring food security and nutrition, often fall into the missing middle in terms of financing. To fill this financing gap, the Shamba Centre and the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development recommend enhancing domestic lending by: 1️⃣ improving the agri-food expertise and risk appetite of domestic lenders 2️⃣ increasing priority lending and results-based incentives for domestic banks 3️⃣ improving the credit risk profile of agri-food SMEs through insurance products 4️⃣ integrating financial literacy into technical assistance programmes Read more in Chapter 2 ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eZJSy3st #MSME #Nutrition #FoodSecurity #Finacing #MissingMiddle Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN) Maurizio Navarra Bruce Campbell Michelle Tang Sierra Berardelli Oshani Perera Lysiane L. Kamal El Harty Aceli Africa SDG2 Advocacy Hub AFEX Palladium: Make It Possible Fundación Capital Argidius Foundation Small Foundation GAWA Capital

Exploiting the power of lost crops 🌱   The African Crops Alliance (ACA) is a new alliance aiming to bring together all stakeholders working in food systems in Africa, particularly those working with (almost) lost and underutilised crops. These crops have a big potential to address food security and hunger issues on the continent. 🌍 🔀 The Alliance plans to break down silos and create a unified vision and a holistic approach to the promotion, development and commercialisation of these crops.   📰 The Shamba Centre is excited to see the re-introduction and cultivation of these crops. Read our blog on how we can bring them back. https://lnkd.in/eShGGf5G   One-to-watch!   #LostCrops #OpportunityCrops #FoodSystemTransformation #FoodSecurity #SDG2 #Africa Simballa Sylla SOS SAHEL International France African Union FAO SDG2 Advocacy Hub Yolélé Chef Pierre Thiam Laura Layousse CAA - Compagnie Africaine Agroalimentaire Aaron Adu Global Shea Alliance REMI HEMERYCK CIRAD Michel Ghanem Jaron Porciello Havos.ai Haskè Ventures Air France Boston Consulting Group (BCG) JRS Biodiversity Foundation Lysiane L.

☀ Summer is all about teaming up! 🙏 The Shamba Centre for Food & Climate is brainstorming with the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) to bring the competition work to the next level. We are glad to have such a passionate extended family collaborating to maximise the effort to make competition a powerful tool to: 1️⃣ Eradicate hunger everywhere 2️⃣ Give small producers opportunities to join the market 3️⃣ Ensure fair prices for all 🆕 project in the making, stay tuned! 👀 #competition #FairCompetition #EndHunger #SDG2 #FoodSystems Carin Smaller Francine Picard Oshani Perera Chilufya Sampa Reena Das Nair Simon Roberts Arthur Mahuma Heike Fickel Natalie Mouyal Debora Anjos Felix Phiri