This week representatives of the World Bank Group visit the Netherlands as part of a learning journey on food safety. The aim of the learning journey is to seek the balance between commercial success with the interest and improved welfare of smallholder farmers and underscore the prominent role that farmers’ organisations play in strengthening the position of farmers in the value chain. During the journey, staff and clients of the World Bank get insights into Dutch cutting-edge technical expertise and private sector innovation.
The learning journey is an example of how the Netherlands and World Bank are giving shape to the new partnership 'Food for All', which was launched by Minister Ploumen and the World Bank in Rotterdam, May 2015. The agreement focuses on strengthening collaboration in key strategic areas such as food, nutrition and health; inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth with a focus on pro-poor value chains and market transformations that better link farmers to markets and ecologically sustainable food systems for climate-smart, resilient agriculture.
The aim is to match cutting-edge Dutch technical expertise and private sector innovation with programmes and investments by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. This collaboration will seek to balance commercial success with the improved welfare of smallholder farmers and underscore the prominent role that farmers’ organisations play in strengthening the position of farmers in the value chain.
The 5-day combination of exchange, exposure visits, and course inputs, for 27 senior policy-level participants offers good possibilities to engage policy makers in food safety, and further develop relationships with the World Bank. Wageningen UR, Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) is the coordinator of this learning journey. CDI works together with the World Bank, the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs, RVO, Food & Business Knowledge Platform (secretariat of the partnership), NVWA and other groups of Wageningen UR on the design, organisation and facilitation of the learning journey.
Source: www.wageningenur.nl