Agriculture and rural development are key to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the majority of the world's poor and food insecure live in rural areas of developing countries. Unfortunately, the agricultural sector currently suffers from serious underinvestment, thus threatening the achievement of set development goals by 2030 unless there is a substantial increase in public and private investments in agriculture and food systems.

In this regard, the FAO of the UN, the Sam Moyo Africa Institute of Agrarian Studies (SMAIAS) and the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) organised a two-day international symposium on contract farming and other inclusive business models to discuss pertinent issues related to responsible investment in agriculture. The symposium brought together farmers, researchers, the academia, students, producer organisations and international private agribusiness companies from 17 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

For more information on the symposium read here and for the key recommendations made read here. Feel free to direct your questions and concerns to: [email protected] and [email protected].