SNV to address global food crisis at EU Summit

Solutions to the global food crisis will top the agenda at the upcoming European Development Days (EDD) in Brussels, as SNV and partners present  the High Level Panel Small Farmers, Big Business? Engaging the Private Sector in Sustainable Agricultural Development.

Food security remains one of the leading issues facing the world, with The State of Food Insecurity in the World report released by FAO, IFAD and WPF this week reporting 870 million people living in hunger between 2010 and 2012.

Hosted by SNV, COLEACP, GIZ, UNIDO and the Practitioners' Network for European Development Cooperation, Small Farmers, Big Business will bring together leading experts from both the public and the private sector to explore best practices and lessons learned in agricultural development, as well future directions for the sector.

Small Farmers, Big Business will feature two sessions – a panel discussion and a debate. The panel discussion will explore best practice in inclusive business models, through which the public and private sectors have worked together to help suppliers gain access to and benefit from market opportunities. The debate will centre on the way forward for the sector, focusing on policies and partnerships to leverage private sector investment and engagement in social and economic development, food security, and sustainable agriculture.

Two SNV partners will join the debate: Rashid Ally Mamu, managing director of Tanzanian oil seed processors Nyemo Investment Company and Frank van Ooijen, Director for Sustainability at dairy multinational FrieslandCampina.

SNV is also involved in a number of other EDD events, including as co-organiser of the Community Resilience: Social Safety Nets panel with the International Red Cross, GIZ and IFRC. The panel will provide input for the debate around a coordinated response to food insecurity, with SNV partner Ousseini Ouédraogo, leader of the ROPPA farmers organisation in Burkina Faso featuring as one of the speakers.

SNV Head of Strategy, Jessie Bokhoven, will also feature as a panel speaker at the EDD side event The Challenge of Inclusive Growth in Fragile States. Organised by the European Network of Implementing Development Agencies (EUNIDA), the event will address security as a pre-condition for enabling inclusive growth and the importance of security situations and the empowerment processes in fragile state settings.

An annual event organised by the European Commission, European Development Days is Europe’s premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation, bringing together donors, policy makers, NGOs, academics, opinion leaders and the media. EDD 2012 will be held in Brussels on 16 and 17 October.

For more information on the event, visit the Small Farmers, Big Business website here.

Join the Small Farmers, Big Business Linkedin discussion here.

Learn on more about SNV's work in Agriculture here.