Annual Meeting 2010  Sait Halim Pasha Mansion

Istanbul, 21-22 April

©FAO/A. Proto

Releasing the agricultural potential of the EastAgri region for enhanced world food security

Moderators: Charles Riemenschneider, Director, Investment Centre, FAO

Kerem Alkin, Bloomberg HT Economy Director

Speakers: Ferhat Selli, Deputy Undersecretary, Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Turkey

Nikiforos Sivenas, Director of International Affairs,

DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission

Ljerka Puljic, Senior Executive Vice President, Strategic Business Group, Agrokor

Varel Freeman, First Vice-President, EBRD

Dina Umali-Deininger, Sector Manager, World Bank

Johan Swinnen, Professor of Development Economics, University of Leuven

Csaba Csaki, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Corvinus University Budapest

The region covered by EastAgri is one of the few regions in the world that have such a vast

untapped agricultural potential. Millions of hectares could be returned to cultivation without

putting excessive pressure on natural resources. For most crops and animal products, yields

could be increased significantly. From all evidence, the EastAgri region could play an important

role in improving the global food security situation.

Speakers will share views on how investment and improved policies could help unleash the

region‘s agricultural potential. They will debate on ways to make sure that the future agricultural

development of the region will be compatible with the sustainable use of resources and the

welfare of producers and consumers alike. EastAgri members will explain how the institutions they

represent intend to contribute to tackling this challenge through their own operations.

17:00 hours Q&A and Coffee Break

Presentation of EastAgri‘s activities.

Introduction to the round table discussions to be held on 22 April 2010.

18:30-21:00 hours Bilateral meetings and business dinner cruise on the Bosporus

21 April 2010

15:30-18:00 hours

Plenary session

Investment funds in agriculture: Recent experiences and future potential in the EastAgri region

Moderator: Sergio Pimenta, Senior Manager for Global Manufacturing and Services, IFC

Co-moderator: Frank Hollinger, Rural Finance Officer, FAO

Recent years have seen a rapid increase of investment funds targeting agribusiness in

developing and transition economies. Funds include a wide range of vehicles including private

equity funds, funds with a double-bottom line (profitability plus developmental impact), and

public funds (sovereign wealth funds) seeking strategic food security investments. While some

funds invest in primary agriculture and land acquisition, others target SMEs along the

agricultural value chain or rural microfinance institutions.

Following the presentation of a recent global stocktaking conducted by FAO and ConCap, the RT

will discuss core features of Agribusiness Investment Funds (AIFs) operating in Eastern Europe

and Central Asia (ECA) and their current and potential contribution to agribusiness finance.

Experiences with different types of funds so far as well as their future potential in the region

will be discussed. The round table will also look at the development impact of AIFs and their

ability to push the "financial frontier" by financing medium-sized companies and expanding

their operations into smaller and less developed ECA countries. Participants will include

representatives from IFIs, AIFs and other development partners and industry stakeholders.

22 April 2010

9:00-12:30 hours

10:45 hours, Coffee break

Parallel round tables

From farm to fork: Exploring investment opportunities in Turkey‘s agricultural sector

Moderator: Gilles Mettetal, Director, Agribusiness, EBRD

Co-moderator: Sarina Abdysheva, Investment Officer, FAO

Agriculture is an important sector of Turkey‘s economy, contributing 8% to the GDP and

employing more than 7 million people. Its performance is highly contrasted with, on the one

hand, a large number of small farms still operating at a subsistence level and, on the other

hand, very dynamic agribusiness companies investing and shaping agricultural development

throughout the EastAgri region.

The round table participants will aim at exploring investment opportunities in Turkey‘s

agrifood chain, from primary agriculture through food processing and distribution. They will

discuss issues affecting the development of an efficient and competitive agrifood chain and

best ways to finance businesses at all levels. Specific challenges faced by agribusiness

companies will be discussed, in particular working capital financing constraints, government

policies, and the improvement of production efficiency (both energy efficiency and

sustainability). Speakers will include representatives from the private sector, local and

international banks, government and IFIs.

22 April 2010

9:00-12:30 hours

Parallel round tables

Can agricultural investment coexist with climate change policies?

Moderator: Michael Carroll, Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank

Co-moderator: David Colbert, Senior Environment Officer, FAO

Maurizio Guadagni, Senior Rural Development Specialist

Not all policy-makers are aware of the ambivalence and the complexity of the relationships

between agriculture and climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change, agriculture and forestry contribute more than 30% to greenhouse gas emissions, due

to deforestation, the vast quantities of methane produced by the livestock industry, and

emissions from soils. However, agriculture and forestry can also contribute to absorbing and

storing significant volumes of CO2, for instance through reforestation or improved soil and

manure management techniques. Conversely, the impact of climate change on agriculture is

manifold. It influences soil fertility, the development of pests and weeds and eventually the

yields of crops and trees. Increased temperatures and reduced or less regular precipitations

will have a strong negative impact in hot and temperate regions, while in colder regions the

overall impact of climate change may well be positive.

The round table participants will explore both the type of adaptation measures required to

ensure the future development of agriculture in the EastAgri region and the mitigation

measures that could limit the impact that agriculture in this region will have on climate

change. Discussions will cover improved agricultural practices - such as conservation tillage -

and their potential mitigation and adaptation effect. Investments at the agro-processing level

to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will also be examined, including ways to better utilize the

biomass. Speakers will include representatives from the private sector, policy-makers, local

and international banks, and IFIs. EastAgri members will reflect on how to pro-actively

integrate adaptation and mitigation measures in their operations. The roundtable participants

will finally try to identify win-win situations, where more environmental sustainability can also

lead to higher profitability

Moderator: Kaj Mortensen, Senior Consultant in EU Affairs

Co-moderator: Richard Eberlin, Land Tenure and Rural Development Officer, FAO

Rapporteur: Marius Lazdinis, Unit G.4 Pre-accession Assistance to Agriculture and Rural

Development, DG Agriculture and rural development, European Commission

Agriculture is important in the Western Balkan countries and will likely remain so. The

question is: "In what form and to what extent will agriculture contribute to employment

generation in rural areas and, at the same time, become competitive?". A key issue related to

the increased competitiveness of agriculture is the capacity of the rural economy to absorb

surplus agricultural labour through alternative activities. This is possible through the promotion

of a diversified knowledge-based rural economy that stimulates non-farm income

opportunities. One of the potential tools to support such development is the area-based

development approach.

During the break up of former Yugoslavia, many traditional domestic trade links and regional

labour divisions, based on centrally-planned approaches, were disrupted or became obsolete.

In the "new" cross-border areas, this led to an increasing marginalization of rural areas, which

had to rely more heavily on agriculture. Although the European integration process lifted some

trade barriers, cross-border economic areas have not recovered at the same pace as more

"central" regions.

The round table participants will discuss constraints and opportunities for implementing areabased

development approaches in cross-border areas in the Western Balkan countries,

focusing on the role of foreign direct investment. The possibility for EastAgri members, as well

as other private and institutional investors, to invest across borders will be explored.

Moderator: Dina Umali-Deininger, Sector Manager, World Bank

Co-moderator: Bekzod Shamsiev, Senior Agricultural Economist, World Bank, and

D‘mitry Prikhodko, Economist, FAO

The economic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia has significantly

altered the opportunities and constraints of farmers in the region. In many areas, small and

medium-scale private farms have replaced large-scale collective farms as the main drivers of

agriculture development. Prices of labour and capital have changed substantially in both

absolute and relative terms. Price liberalization and more open trade regimes have created

new market opportunities.

But low and middle-income farmers are struggling to adjust their resource base, particularly

with respect to farm mechanization. The transformation and modernization of agriculture has

been slowed down as a result. Small and medium-scale private farmers have limited access to

farm machinery, many of them being heavily oriented towards subsistence production. Most

larger farms continue to depend on an aging - and often declining - stock of soviet-era farm

equipment. A joint FAO/World Bank study will be presented at the round table. The study

examines the causes and implications of this challenge for the agricultural development of the

region. It also provides recommendations on how to promote farm mechanization in low and

middle-income countries by addressing both demand and supply side constraints. EastAgri

members will debate on how they can contribute to improved farm mechanization in the region.

Conclusions of the round table discussions and the way forward for EastAgri and its members

22 April 2010

14:00-16:00 hours

Wrap-up session