Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security
Start year: 2024
Innovation and collaboration to transform food systems for resilience and opportunity
The Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security launched on Agri-Food Systems Day 2024 at the COP16 UN Desertification Conference in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A global coalition of development partners is leading this initiative to address food insecurity, poverty and land degradation, with focus on the Sahel and IGAD (Horn of Africa) regions.
By leveraging innovation and strengthening international cooperation, the Flagship Initiative will deliver lasting, transformative impact for food systems across Africa and beyond.
The Flagship Initiative steps in at a critical moment. We are currently seeing rising global tensions, persistent inflation and declining foreign aid. To ensure food security for the future, now is the moment to advance food supply resilience, through investment and awareness.
The Flagship Initiative works across three pillars:
Collaborate Broadly
- Engage partners across governments, NGOs, multilateral bodies and communities to advance food security through inclusive, apolitical collaboration.
- Align strategically to complement existing efforts and unlock synergies.
Mobilize the Private Sector
- Attract bold, large-scale private sector commitments to drive sustainable, climate-smart food systems.
- Engage business leaders, innovators and financiers to scale up implementation and bridge innovation gaps.
Deliver Impact with Agility
- Prioritize high-return interventions that can be rapidly deployed for measurable impact.
- Launch field-ready projects that improve food security, restore land and expand economic opportunities.
Backed by the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND), the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Islamic Development Bank, the OPEC Fund, the Crop Trust, UNCCD, and more than 30 partners worldwide, the Flagship Initiative champions sustainable food systems, community empowerment and long-term resilience.
Launch event of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on December 2024.
Members of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security
The Flagship Initiative emerged from a partnership between AGFUND, BADEA and the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture, chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Michael Kremer of the University of Chicago. Current members include:
See full list
- Aavishkaar Group, India
- Abdou Moumouni University, Niger
- Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy, China
- African Food Security, USA
- Agrostore, Nigeria
- Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID)
- Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)*
- Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)*
- Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Sudan
- Atoms4Food Initiative
- AVPN, Singapore
- Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, Austria
- Bayer AG, Germany
- Beijing Jingwa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center, China
- Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), India
- CleanCyclers
- CRDB Bank Plc, Tanzania
- CropLife Africa Middle East, Belgium
- Crop Trust, Germany
- Emerging Ag Inc, Canada
- Evergreen Innovation Platform, USA
- Fiera Capital Corporation, Canada
- Global Executive Leadership Initiative, Switzerland
- Government of Djibouti
- Government of Burkina Faso
- Government of Cameroon
- Government of Guinea
- Government of Somalia
- Hack for Earth Foundation, Sweden
- Heeno International, Gambia
- Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture
- Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture at the University of Chicago, USA
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- International Agriculture Consulting Group, India
- Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)*
- Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), Kazakhstan
- Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima)
- Oasis Advisory
- OCP Group, Morocco
- OPEC Fund for International Development*
- Partners of the Americas, USA
- PepsiCo, Inc, USA
- Phyla Earth Limited, UK
- Principes Partners Ltd, Hong Kong
- Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi, UAE
- Regional Initiative Building Resilience in the Dry Corridor and Arid Zones of the SICA region (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic)
- Saudi Fund for Development*
- Taylor Geospatial Institute, USA
- UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
- UN Science Summit
- Village Farmers Initiative
- ZEF Concepts Ltd, UK
(*Members of the Arab Coordination Group)
Key Engagements
The Flagship Initiative will engage thought leaders and decision makers at key moments. Upcoming engagements include:
- 4th UN Financing for Development Conference – Seville, Spain, 1-3 July
- 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4) – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 27-29 July
- Africa Food Systems Forum – Dakar, Senegal, 1-5 September
- Science Summit at UN General Assembly – New York, USA, 22-25 September
- World Food Day – Rome, Italy, 15-17 October
Milestones
Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security Partners with AGFUND to Scale Proven Solutions
The Global Flagship Initiative is honored to partner with the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) to implement an initiative for Scaling Proven Solutions, in collaboration with the Crop Trust.
With generous support from AGFUND, the Initiative is well-positioned to enhance coordination and advance critical efforts to strengthen food security, improve seed systems, and build farmer resilience. The Secretariat looks forward to working closely with AGFUND, and its broad network of members and partners, to accelerate impactful action across these priority areas.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr. Nasser Alkahtani, Executive Director of AGFUND, said:
Today, we stand united in a mission that transcends borders and generations. By joining hands with the Crop Trust, AGFUND reinforces its pledge to a world where food security is a reality for all — built on the preservation of biodiversity, the empowerment of farmers, and the resilience of our agricultural systems. Together, we plant the seeds of sustainability and hope.
Dr. Nasser Alkahtani, Executive Director of AGFUND with Dr. Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust at the The UN Conference on Finance for Development in Seville, Spain.
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