Transforming agriculture: measuring the impact to invest better?
Following on from the 2024 edition dedicated to the challenge of financing the transformation of agriculture, the FARM Foundation is organizing the Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris, an international conference on the crucial issue of impact measurement in agricultural investments.
The 2024 conference concluded with a diagnosis showing that financing and investment for sustainable agricultural development combining productivity, food sovereignty and preservation of natural resources were insufficient and often ineffective.
To strengthen advocacy for increased funding – public and private –
FARM has chosen to dedicate its next international conference to the theme of measuring the impact of investments to understand how this can influence the practices of farmers, manufacturers and all stakeholders in the sectors, with a view to taking the impact into account broadly: environment, economy, society, governance.
This hybrid event, combining in-person and remote sessions, will bring together French and international experts and decision-makers to discuss four major issues:
1. What contributions does research make? on measuring the impact on the practices of stakeholders in the agricultural and food sector?
2. How are impact measurement indicators defined? in alignment with economic, environmental and social sustainability objectives and the reporting expectations of financing and investment stakeholders?
3. Evaluation of results and monitoring by financiers and investors Did they lead to changes in agricultural practices?
4. Under what conditions can impact measurement be inclusive? and enable the development of producers in the countries of the South?
During this day will also be awarded the FARM Foundation Award, rewarding the societal commitment of researchers who contribute to improving food and agricultural systems.
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Meet at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris (practical information on how to get there)
10 a.m.: OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE
Pascal Lheureux, Farmer and President of the Foundation for Agriculture and Rurality in the World (FARM), France
Arianna Legovini, Director of the Development Impact Evaluation Department of the World Bank, United States
10:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.: KEYNOTE – Impact science: what contributions does research make to stakeholders' practices?
Juliette Seban, Director of the Innovation Fund for Development, France
Tanguy Bernard, Professor at the University of Bordeaux and member of the Scientific Council of FARM, France
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: ROUND TABLE 1 – The perspective of financing stakeholders: methods, tools and expectations
Intervention of Maya Atig, Director of the French Banking Federation, France
André Albuquerque Sant'Anna, Head of the Climate Department of the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) and Visiting Professor at the Federal Fluminense University, Brazil
Alexandra Veidner, Senior Technical Manager in Sustainability Reporting at the European Advisory Group on Financial Reporting, Belgium
Gautier Quéru, Director of Natural Capital, Mirova, France
Claude Torre, Project Team Manager, AFD, France
Moderation: Philippe Guichandut, Secretary General of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, France
12:30 p.m.: FARM 2025 AWARD CEREMONY
Presentation of the FARM Prize by Pierre Jacquet, Economist and President of the Scientific Council of FARM, France and Gifty Narh, co-founder of the CORADE agency (Advice, action research and development of expertise), Burkina Faso and member of the FARM Scientific Council
Lunch cocktail
2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: ROUND TABLE 2 – When investments change practices
Hamza Addam, Innovation Manager, OCP Nutricrops, Morocco
Blaise Desbordes, Managing Director of Max Havelaar France, France
Adeline Lescanne, General Manager of Nutriset, France
Boris Naguet, Director of Operations for Tourba Africa and Brazil, at InnovX, Morocco
Anaïs Riffiod, Managing Director of Apexagri, France
Jerome Fabre, Executive Chairman of Compagnie Fruitière, France
Moderation: Marie-Laure Hustache, SYRPA Delegate and member of the “EllesSontFood” network, France
3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: ROUND TABLE 3 – Towards inclusive impact measurement: challenges, risks and opportunities for producers
Intervention of Ibrahima Coulibaly, Malian farmer, President of the Pan-African Farmers' Organization and the Network of Farmers' Organizations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa (ROPPA), Mali
Florent Bédécarrats, Researcher at the Institute for Research for Development (IRD), France
Assata Doumbia, farmer and president of the Méagui Farmers' Cooperative Enterprise (ECAM), Ivory Coast
Mamadou Goïta, Director of the Institute for Research and Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD) and member of the IPES-Food panel, Mali
Cécile Lapenu, Director of Cerise, France
Mathieu Soglonou, Director of the Confederation of Financial Institutions in West Africa (CIF-AO), Burkina Faso
Moderation: François Doligez, Agroeconomist, program officer at IRAM and member of the Scientific Council of the FARM Foundation, France
5 p.m.: CLOSING
Pierre Jacquet, Economist and President of the Scientific Council of FARM, France
Ibrahim Mayaki, African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems
Sara Savastano, Director of the Research and Impact Evaluation Division of IFAD, Italy
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: COCKTAIL
