Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum aims to boost funding for agrifood systems in Sahel

Governments from Africa’s Sahel have recently met with potential donors and other organizations at the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum 2023, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), where they presented dozens of projects aimed at boosting agricultural production and food security in a sustainable and profitable way.
The FAO’s matchmaking initiative, which pitches $6 billion in investable projects aiming to tackle poverty, hunger and drought in the Sahel region, brought together participating governments with traditional donors, multilateral development banks and representatives of the private sector and foundations. The national government-led event that attracted some 31 countries was held during the recent (16–20 October 2023) World Food Forum at the FAO headquarters in Rome. While the governments from the Sahel and also Central America’s Dry Corridor pitched around 110 national-priority investable projects in agrifood systems, all of them benefiting from FAO’s specialized technical analysis and investments expertise, considerable attention was given to two regional initiatives involving multiple countries facing similar challenges.
The Sahel and Dry Corridor both face shared issues, especially drought and inadequate management of water resources that trigger conflicts and forced migration, so crafting joint solutions can make it easier to help members attract partners and investors. Governments from five Sahel countries outlined their commitments in the area and — notably given some recent government changes in the region — allied around the idea of keeping cross-border Sahelian institutions together to tackle common challenges ranging from poverty and insecurity, farmer-herder conflicts and drought. Targeted investments presented focus on high-poverty zones and include a major effort to introduce solar-powered pumps and sharply increase the amount of irrigated cropland. Other key investment areas include reducing cross-border trade restrictions and barriers and improving availability and local generation of livestock forage and feed, a major source of conflict in the area.