There are 500 million smallholder farmers in the world, most of whom are subsistence farmers facing economic and social constraints as well as severe effects of climate change. To ensure sustainable livelihoods, smallholders need to progress from «farming to live» to «farming to make a living», with a strong link to viable markets. Moreover, the future generation of farmers, the youth, finds little place for themselves in current subsistence farming models. Degraded land creates a vicious circle where low yields lead to poor livelihoods and even more environmental degradation. Inefficient connections to markets and little access to knowledge, technology and financing, further prevent farmers from raising out of poverty.
The conveners of this dialogue believe that the relationship between Public and Private sector can be leveraged more efficiently, namely through operational coalitions to mobilize knowledge, markets and resources. There is a need for initiatives where projects and funds aiming simultaneously at social, environmental and economic impact can be designed, tested and scaled up. New approaches to financing and acting are developing and should be encouraged from impact investment to hybrid financial models mixing public and private funding.
To further address these issues, a high-level group of 60-80 actors will be gathered to alternate insights from inspiring speakers and business cases, and exchange in interactive sessions.
The meeting will:
The Dialogue will be organized into two interactive sessions in which participants will alternate receiving insights from inspiring speakers and business cases and exchanging ideas and experiences in panel discussions:
