More than 300 participants representing governments, international organizations, academia, research organizations, the private sector, NGOs and civil society are expected to descend upon Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, from 20 to 21 November, to attend the International Conference on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) – Leveraging Innovations from the Global South to Support Rural Transformation.

Dyogo Oliveira, Brazil’s Minister of Planning, Development and Management, will open the conference on 20 November at the MeliáBrasil 21 Convention Centre in Brasilia.

“In a country where agriculture is so important to the economy and still experiencing poverty scenarios, it is fundamental to know new experiences and mechanisms to combat inequalities,” said Oliveira. “We are committed to promoting conditions conducive to the development and generation of jobs and income and understand the activity as a Brazilian force in this struggle.”

The conference, organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in cooperation with Brazil and other partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation and the International Land Coalition, aims to identify and discuss innovative solutions with a specific focus on increasing agricultural production and productivity.

Over the course of the two-day conference, participants will discuss boosting investment promotion between developing countries to support financing for smallholder agriculture and rural development, and leveraging information and communication technologies with a specific focus on engaging rural youth and women.

Partnerships and cooperation opportunities across low-income, middle income and upper middle-income countries that can be expanded to support agriculture and rural development for better prosperity, will also be discussed.

“South-South and Triangular Cooperation is a key development modality for furthering the objectives of Agenda 2030 and reaching the SDGs. Complementing the more traditional north-south modality for development cooperation,” said AshwaniMuthoo, IFAD’s Director of Global Engagement, Knowledge and Strategy Division. “SSTC allows developing countries to take more leadership, responsibility and ownership in their own development to improve the livelihoods and food security of their own people.”

During the conference, more than 10 Ministers from participating developing countries will share their experiences during two high-level ministerial panels: The role and contribution of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the Sustainable Development Agenda and The role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in supporting inclusive rural transformation. The high-level panels will be followed by three moderated thematic sessions.

Since 1980, IFAD has financed 12 rural development programmes and projects in Brazil for a total cost of US$864.5 million. This includes $565 million ($279.4 million direct IFAD investment) for current operations in the country’s northeast states which benefits nearly 400,000 rural households. While initial IFAD investments focused on rural development activities in the north-eastern, semi-arid region of the country known as sertão, today IFAD has expanded its operations to the Maranhão Amazonian transition area, Pernambuco pre-sertão area (agreste) and coastal rainforest (mataatlantica).

Over the years, the lessons learned from IFAD-funded operations in Brazil have been shared with government officials, civil society, the private sector and family farmers via policy dialogue forums and the knowledge-sharing programmeSemear (“to sow” in Portuguese).