Asunción, Agencia IP.- Paraguayan’s Government, in coordination with the Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the country, is preparing its participation in the Forum of Investments, which will take place from October 17 to 20 in Rome, Italy, within the framework of the World Food Forum 2023. The arrangements are organized through the FAO, the Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cattle of Paraguay.

The presence of Paraguay will be through a representation of high authorities from the Government and the productive sector to present the agricultural sector’s potential in the country, during the Investment Forum that brings together the participating countries of the Hand-in-Hand Initiative. During the Forum, national authorities will present investment opportunities to corporations, multilateral development banks and donors, among other participants.

In the Forum, Paraguay will present two notes of investments prepared through a solid public-private alliance to the international community, aiming to attract private investments or financing from multilateral organizations. The projects that will be presented are related to the dairy chain and banana production. The notes were made using the methodology Hand-in-Hand.

To organize the presence of Paraguay in the Forum, such as to review the FAO cooperation agenda in the country, the representative of the FAO in Paraguay, Agustín Zimmermann; the Official in Charge of the Office of FAO in Paraguay, Fabiola Alcorta, and members of the specialized staff of the organization maintained a series of meetings with Government’s authorities. 

A first meeting was made with the Minister of Agriculture and Cattle, Carlos Giménez, with whom the axes of cooperation, primarily actions to strengthen the agricultural sector, were reviewed. In that sense, he discussed the Government’s priority lines regarding agriculture and livestock, supporting family farming and food security. During the meeting, the presence of Paraguay in the Forum was approached, which will take place from October 16 to 20.

Regarding the same topics, the representative of FAO and the Official in charge of the Office met in the presidential residence Mburuvicha Róga with the Head of Cabinet of the Presidency, Lea Giménez. Also, in the Chancellery with the Substitute Minister of Foreign Relations, Juan Baiardi; Vice-minister of Administration and Technical Issues; the private secretary and counsellor, Eliana Duarte, and Lilian Rojas, from the Direction of Multilateral Economic Organisms.

World Food Forum

In the framework of the World Food Forum, the initiative Hand-in-Hand of the United Nations for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is organizing a second edition of the Inversions Forum. This event will take place from October 17 to 20, 2023. It will provide a unique platform for 30 countries of the initiative to present their impact investment opportunities to enterprises, multilateral development banks, donors, investors and other key actors. The Forum seeks to encourage international cooperation and to generate a constructive dialogue to impulse economic development for the sustainable transformation of food systems in various regions of the world.

The Hand-in-Hand Initiative and its focus on investment

The initiative Hand-in-Hand, launched in 2019 worldwide and currently developed in 66 countries, aims to encourage sustainable investment, especially in agricultural, food and rural sectors, prioritizing countries with the more significant rates of poverty and hunger, where national capacities are limited or operative difficulties are more meaningful because of natural or human crisis.

Its main objective is to strengthen the countries’ capacity to attract investments and mobilize financial resources supporting their agri-food systems, reducing poverty and promoting inclusive economic growth with a territorial approach. The initiative is led and implemented by counties, and they recognize that private investment and collaboration between the public and private sectors are crucial to achieving these goals. 

According to the Chief Economist of FAO, Máximo Torero Cullen, “the initiative of the Hand-in-Hand led and conducted by countries, uses cutting-edge geospatial tools, solutions based on science and innovation to identify priority areas, where through concrete interventions, it aims to improve the incomes of farmers and reduce rural poverty effectively and in a sustainable way”.

Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the initiative works with 14 countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haití, Honduras, Nicaragua, Perú, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic). Additionally, it is being worked on in a regional initiative, Hand-in-Hand, for the Dry Corridor and arid areas.

National authorities will expose investment opportunities to corporations, multilateral development banks and donors during the Forum. The emphasis will be on the potential for development in the agricultural sector, particularly small and medium-family agriculture and national companies. Eleven investment plans will be presented that cover 31 industries, with coffee, bananas, cocoa, and the dairy chain being the most notable.

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