Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) Interactive Discussion 3: International Development Cooperation

Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) Interactive Discussion 3: International Development Cooperation

Adriano Campolina, Senior Policy Officer, Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, FAO

04/12/2024

Several trillion dollars are needed to meet SDG targets 2.1 and 2.2 and even greater amounts may be needed to transform agrifood systems and prevent and mitigate food crises. Food security and nutrition take less than a quarter of ODA and OOF (23 % on average) flows and seem to have been less of a priority for donors. Increasing ODA for food security and nutrition is crucial to prevent food crises and to transform agrifood systems.

There is a need for a common definition for food security and nutrition financing. The lack of clarity complicates our efforts to meet SDG 2.1 and SDG 2.2 and contributes to accountability issues and highlights the complexity and fragmentation of the current financial landscape. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 proposes a new definition that captures the holistic nature of food security and nutrition. It considers public and private financing coming from domestic or foreign sources and integrates actions that address the main determinants as well as the major and structural drivers of hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

Climate finance is the cornerstone for future flows of development finance for agrifood system transformation and the prevention of food crises and needs to be scaled up significantly. The countries most vulnerable to climate impacts and those experiencing protracted crises are receiving a small share of climate-related development finance: the 30 most vulnerable countries received an average of USD 0.9 per capita climate adaptation funding compared to a per capita average of USD 10.8 in countries with low vulnerability. Climate finance must reach small-scale food producers, who are the most affected by climate change.