Donor coordination and effectiveness of aid to agriculture

1. Donor coordination and effectiveness of aid to agriculture Effectiveness in Aid to AgricultureCzech action to strengthen food security Glopolis / FoRS Seminar, Prague, 18 February 2009 Christoph Langenkamp, task leader agricultural and rural policySecretariat of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development www.donorplatform.org christoph.langenkamp@donorplatform.org

2. Global Donor Platform for Rural Development • A network of 30 donors, international finance institutions and development agencies, formed in 2003; • Common vision that agricultural and rural development (ARD) plays important role in poverty reduction; • Members are committed to achieve increased and more effective aid for ARD, centred on smallholder agriculture; • Proposed Platform outputs: • Coherent and evidence-based advocacy in support of increased and more effective aid in ARD; • Enhanced capacity of member agencies to deliver more effective support for ARD (knowledge management)

3. Context • When addressing aid: development is the prerogative of sovereign nations;

4. Context • When addressing aid: development is the prerogative of sovereign nations; • Aid allocation in ARD declined;

5. Context • When addressing aid: development is the prerogative of sovereign nations; • Aid allocation in ARD declined; • Aid fragmentation increased;

6. Context • When addressing aid: development is the prerogative of sovereign nations; • Aid allocation in ARD declined; • Aid fragmentation increased; • Aid architecture and modalities are increasingly complex

7. Paris Partnership Commitments • Developing countries exercise leadership over their development policies and plans (ownership); • Donors base their support on countries’ development strategies and systems (alignment); • Donors co-ordinate their activities and minimise the cost of delivering aid (harmonisation); • Developing countries and donors orient their activities to achieve the desired results (managing for results); • Donors and developing countries are accountable to each other for progress in managing aid better and in achieving development results (mutual accountability);

8. Sectoral issues of the Paris Declaration • The agricultural sector: • is private sector led with limited role of the state; • includes a wide range of stakeholders (civil society, rural organisations, private sector); • is cross-Ministerial and institutionally complex; • the challenges and needs are heterogeneous and are country/region-specific.

9. Agricultural sector experiences implementing Paris Declaration • Ownership: Joint Assistance Strategies (JAS) existing but weak capacity and involvement of rural stakeholders. Lack of integration of national policy with sector and local strategies. • Alignment: Currently with government policies and systems but new approaches and models may require working outside government. • Harmonisation: PBAs and SWAps existing but still too many approaches and no real incentives; at times too complex. • Mutual Accountability: SWAps, MoUs and Financing Agreements existing but broader stakeholder involvement and clearer norms required. • Managing for Results: Concepts (outcomes, results and indicators) and processes (M&E systems, capacity assessment and stakeholders) still rather weak & undefined.

10. Key points of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) • Organised along three major challenges: Ownership, partnerships and results • Concrete steps on predictability, transparency, use of country systems, untying, division of labour. • Progress on fragile states, conditionality. • Significant change in the nature of the relationship between donors and partners – accountability and trust.

11. Key issues for effective ARD policies & strategies • Strengthened and more inclusive ownership (farmers & farmers’ organisations, rural CSOs, private sector) of policies/strategies & implementation/monitoring; • Capacity development for all stakeholders; • Coherent and “good enough” policies and strategies at national, sectoral and decentralised levels; • South-south learning networks, communities of practice. • Development of cost-effective results management and improvement of methodology and progress indicators in results-monitoring for ARD.

12. Donor issues for effective aid in ARD • In addition: • Alignment and increased use of country systems, incl. support to regional mechanisms (e.g. CAADP); • Realistic PBAs (see Platform study, EC guide); • Strengthen partnerships (global, regional, national); • Finalise Joint Principles for donors; • Division of labour; • Support incentives for aid effectiveness for ARD; • Regard “Right to Food”, WDR 2008, OECD, IAASTD…

13. Thankyou And please visit: www.donorplatform.org

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15. Key points of the AAA (cont.) • Ownership, country-level policy dialogue on development (§13) • Capacity development (§14) • Country systems (§15) • Reducing aid fragmentation (§17) • Recognition of role of all development partners (§19) • Civil society (§20) • Managing for results and incentives (§23) • Accountability for results (§24 & 26b)