Virtual Workshop for Government Officials Eastern and Southern Africa

The main goals of this virtual training workshop are to help government officials understand the legal and policy risks as well as potential benefits of different business models in agriculture, with a focus on large-scale agribusiness investments—while at the same time applying the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) to better analyze the legal tools used.

The regional focus of Eastern and Southern Africa will facilitate peer-to-peer learning and showcasing of champions in the region, as well as sharing of regional best practices for responsible agricultural investment. 

This training workshop will seek to enhance participants' awareness on:

• The relationship between global, regional, and national legal frameworks for responsible investments in agriculture.
• Situating the CFS-RAI as one possible best-practice framework to promote fair, balanced, and equitable legal tools in the agricultural sector, hence aligning national laws and policies with these principles to achieve national and regional development objectives.
• The opportunities and risks posed by large-scale agribusiness investments and the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in agriculture to promote responsible agricultural investment.
• The opportunities, risks, and trade-offs from different business models and incentives for investment in agriculture. This includes agricultural growth poles, public-private joint venture agreements, concessions, public-private partnerships, and the use of voluntary sustainability standards to help smallholder farmers access global value chains.
• Best practices to improve negotiation outcomes for responsible investments in agriculture and food systems, including national strategies, models and templates; institutional arrangements, and cost-benefit analysis to achieve development objectives.

It will be held from June 28 to July 1, 2021.

This event is made possible through guidance and support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Support was also provided by IISD's programme on Promoting Sustainable Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East Africa Community (EAC).

This meeting is by invitation only.