A report from the Rockefeller Institute says that “With only five harvests left before the end of the decade, the impetus to take action becomes more urgent with each passing year.
“The food and finance communities must work together to catalyse change in food systems, and change starts with mutual education and understanding.
“Too often, the food and finance communities are siloed and hold unrealistic expectations of one another. Transition to a healthier, more resilient food system will only come through working together to design solutions that distribute risk across the value chain such that no one actor is bearing the full cost of transition alone.”
The report says that for investors in agrifood systems, business as usual is no longer viable.
It says that evidence shows that the negative externalities of global agrifood systems outstrip the global market value of agricultural production by a ratio of two to one. The food system has become value destroying as measured in climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, diet related disease and erosion of farmer well-being – all of which threaten the resilience of agrifood supply chains.
Nutritional concerns place pressure on food producers and distributors to increase the availability of affordable, healthy food, even as changing temperatures and precipitation patterns decrease crop yields. Meanwhile, policymakers are passing regulations to mitigate the negative climate, biodiversity, and health consequences of industrialised food production systems.
A spokesperson for the Rockefeller Institute said, “The Financing for Regenerative Agriculture report sheds light on how investors are beginning to drive the transition to a more resilient global agrifood supply chain.
“As detailed throughout this report, the provision of grant capital to technical assistance facilities that support producers with implementation is crucial. However, providers of concessional capital should consider opportunities beyond technical assistance facilities and junior capital that crowds-in commercial investor participation.
“Beyond provision of financing, concessional capital will of course also play a key role in market development through supporting the acceleration of regenerative agriculture data, policies, standards, and stakeholder coordination.
The report is in four sections:
- The bankability gap in regenerative agriculture
- Market maturity and impact leverage
- Instruments and structures
- Additional considerations for financiers