Driving financing and partnership to accelerate agrifood systems transformation: FAO’s leadership at the 2026 ECOSOC Forum

FAO's engagement at the 2026 ECOSOC Partnership Forum and the Coordination Segment highlighted the Organization's role in bringing partners together around practical, evidence-based solutions for agrifood systems transformation. Throughout the Forum and the Coordination Segment, FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero Cullen, and Director of the Partnership and UN Collaboration Division, Lauren Phillips, as well as the Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations (UN) in New York, Angélica Jácome, contributed to discussions aimed at enabling coherent, country-level solutions. Their interventions underscored the importance of partnerships to tackle the global challenges we face, accelerating agrifood systems transformation to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.

FAO, together with the Permanent Missions of the Dominican Republic and Italy to the United Nations and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), highlighted the urgent need for more accessible, resilient and innovative financing models to support farmers, workers and communities across agrifood systems during the High-Level Accelerate Financing for Agrifood Systems Transformation side event at the ECOSOC Partnership Forum.

The session, featuring a presentation by Máximo Torero Cullen and moderated by Lauren Phillips, aimed to explore the current agrifood system financing architecture, examine its challenges, and identify scalable investment solutions capable of meeting rising global demands. With farmers, workers and rural communities confronting increasingly complex challenges, speakers emphasized that current financial mechanisms are not keeping pace with the scale and speed of transformation required.

ECOSOC President H.E Lok Bahadur Thapa speaking at the FAO High-Level Accelerate Financing for Agrifood Systems Transformation side event

After the opening segment which featured a statement by ECOSOC President, H.E Lok Bahadur Thapa, the Chief Economist set the scene and spotlighted concrete pathways to accelerate financing. These included innovative and blended finance approaches, improved de-risking strategies that differentiate specific country contexts through with increased information on the bankability and sustainability of projects, as well on potential risks. He highlighted the critical role of reducing uncertainty for private sector investors. "It is important to take into account both financial and information de-risking to accelerate complementarities of public and private investments in agrifood systems," he stressed. Torero noted that stronger data systems and targeted support can help unlock investment where it is most needed, particularly in vulnerable regions. He also showcased FAO initiatives designed to build effective collaborative financing mechanisms, including the Hand-in-Hand Initiative (HiH), the FAO Global Roadmap, and the Financing for Shock- Driven Food Crisis.

Building on this, Angélica Jácome's closing remarks emphasized the need to ensure that financing models deliver meaningful, equitable impact on the ground. "Finance needs to be at scale. It needs to support equity, sustainability and impact. At the same time, there is no 'one size fits all' solution, specific contexts require tailored measures," she said.

Highlighting Collaborative, Country-Lead Approaches to Deliver on the 2030 Agenda

During the Forum, Chief Economist, Máximo Torero Cullen, participated in the Partnership Forum Panel session on Sustainable Development Goal 17, where he highlighted the critical role of collaborative approaches in accelerating progress across the 2030 Agenda, demonstrating FAO's technical and normative excellence by showcasing the experiences of three successful FAO-led partnerships the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and the Financing for Shock-Driven Food Crisis (FSFC). He underlined that these three FAO tools all echoed the same message despite operating in diverse contexts.

Together, they reinforce a simple truth said the Chief Economist:

"WASAG, Hand in Hand and FSFC - show that partnerships work when they are inclusive, country-driven, and results-focused."

These tools also show how FAO enhances impact by bringing evidence together, aligning actors, and bridging humanitarian development and policy efforts.

He also moderated one of the ECOSOC Coordination Segment titled ECOSOC systems working together towards the 2026 HLPF where coordinated action to address the interlinkages between the SDG Goals under review were emphasized.

Chief Economist Máximo Torero Cullen, moderating at the ECOSOC Coordination Segment titled ECOSOC systems working together towards the 2026 HLPF

In addition, during the Partnership Forum Lauren Phillips delivered opening remarks at the "Bananas as a Global Model for Agricultural Cooperation" virtual side event and served as a panelist in the "Strategic Investments for Resilient Agrifood Systems" virtual side event.

Director of the Partnership and UN Collaboration Division, Lauren Phillips, at the "Strategic Investments for Resilient Agrifood Systems" online panel event