FAO Highlights Private Investment for Rural Development

FAO, through its Global Hand-in-Hand Initiative, together with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Intercoonecta program, launched a publication titled Private Investments for Development and Multi-Actor Partnerships: Approaches, Experiences, and Reflections for Action. The launch event was supported by AECID’s Training Center in Guatemala and its cooperation offices in Colombia and Mexico.

The document outlines 11 strategic keys to promote private investment in rural areas and agri-food systems. The recommendations emphasize enabling investments such as telecommunications and energy and are grouped into three core dimensions: governance and approaches, roles of actors, and implementation and tools. The study compiles experiences from Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador, highlighting collaborative governance models that could be applied in other regional contexts.

The research also offers recommendations to strengthen multi-actor partnerships. These include the development of secure and flexible financing mechanisms through blended finance and tailored strategies to address the heterogeneity of the private sector. The report explores how private investments are evolving from philanthropy toward triple-impact models and how public-private partnerships are shifting from hierarchical structures to horizontal agreements with a territorial focus.

“Public-private cooperation is crucial for sustainable development. The experiences presented are especially relevant for those of us who understand that sustainable development requires innovative formulas to improve collaborative processes,” said Paz Martínez, Deputy Director of Ibero-American Cooperation and Horizontal Programs, AECID’s Directorate of Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean.

“In our experience, public-private articulation, particularly enabling investment, is essential to ensure the functioning of agri-food systems, inclusive rural development, and food security in the region,” stated Luiz Carlos Beduschi, Senior Policy Officer for Territorial Development, FAO.