William McFarland’s Post

Intended to be used by a wide range of stakeholders engaged in promoting sustainable agricultural investments—such as agribusinesses, financial investors, and industry associations—the tool shows how to create a clear, actionable plan. It has been tested by agribusinesses in Africa and Asia and refined based on their feedback and is designed to be compliant with internationally recognized best practices of sustainable business conduct, such as the principles on responsible investment in the agricultural and food systems (CFS-RAI Principles) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards. https://lnkd.in/dyiTTjaD

🌱 Driving Growth in New Zealand's Agri-Sector 🌱 The Agri-sector is a cornerstone of New Zealand's economy, contributing around $54 billion in exports. The government aims to double this in the next decade, but achieving this ambitious goal requires significant capital investment.🔑 To deliver on this growth agenda requires: * Supporting land use change and sustainable intensification. * Deploying advanced technology and infrastructure. * Attracting more domestic and overseas capital investment. For an old but still on-the-money reference see this ANZ report which notes a capital gap as high as $340B to meet agri-sector growth and succession needs. As noted, where will the investment come from?

"In the right context and with careful planning and design, PfR can be a uniquely powerful tool to spur private sector investment that leads to the development of inclusive, sustainable, and dynamic markets for promising agricultural technologies, as well as for scaling uptake of those technologies among smallholder farmers." In this blog post, Denise Mainville reflects on ten years of external evaluation activities for AgResults and the programmatic impacts of this financing mechanism that seeks to 'pull' private sector actors into the market with incentives.   https://lnkd.in/etwspD3F   

Great analysis on the ROI for government investment in primary sector innovation, through the SFFF program. 16x return over 30 years isn't exactly VC-type payback, but that's exactly the point. Private investment typically won't have the patience for these kinds of innovations to mature and deliver returns. That's the role of government, and this program is a great example of public investment in long-term priorities. Additionally, the government has invested in more than monetary returns - it's there in the "S" of the SFFF - this portfolio is about delivering sustainability outcomes, and transforming the primary sector for the better.

Agree John Stackhouse with the assessments below viz Agriculture 2.0. The next green revolution for food is actually turquoise in the sense we MUST include the blue revolution in seafood therein. Aquaculture IS Agriculture (UNFAO). Consumption of farmed seaFOOD now exceeds wild capture, globally. ..over one trillion meals of seaFOOD annually, 4 billion daily meals. Innovation is paramount to feed the World, and Agtech, "extension" & socioeconomic/environmental efforts together will facilitate the turquoise revolution 1.0.

New York is one of the world’s great food capitals, but unfortunately food and agriculture are among the less celebrated themes this year at NY Climate Week. It’s unfortunate because food, and how we produce and consume it, can play a huge role in the fight against climate change. To help change that, one of Canada’s leading thinkers on ag, Evan Fraser, was at #ClimateWeekNYC, with an important new piece of research from the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. The report (https://lnkd.in/g-MdzhYR) shows how ag tech can help us produce more food with fewer emissions, and calls on Canada to pick a path. We know the value farmers provide through good soil management, enabling the ground beneath their feet to capture and store greenhouse gases. They’re also helping reduce climate change through better livestock management (especially methane management) and using more environmentally sustainable fertilizers. (I was happy to share RBC’s insights with the project, including our reports The Next Green Revolution ➡ https://lnkd.in/gF5_kwgJ and Farmer 4.0 ➡ https://lnkd.in/gt9JkuHZ) Here’s some of what the report suggests Canadians do to go from ag superpower to ag tech superpower: — focus on scaling ag tech companies, especially in precision age digital ag, biotech and AI; — push high schools to immerse students in ag tech, everywhere; — demand more coordination between Ottawa and provinces on ag tech. I’d suggest mandating Industry Canada to take the lead; — promote more interdisciplinary studies and research, for instance, between agriculture, engineering and business schools; — create specific incentives for private equity. Might be an interesting option for any future reforms to the capital gains tax; — support more ag research clusters;  — invest in what used to be called “ag extension” to get new technologies to farmers. Farmer-led networks can be very effective; ag schools and community colleges can play a greater role, too. Feeding the Future with Canadian Technology is more than an excellent and timely report. It’s a good model of collaboration, led by Fraser, Lenore Newman, from the University of the Fraser Valley, and Peter Dhillon, chair of Ocean Spray Cranberries (otherwise known as Canada’s “cranberry king.”) We’ll need more of that cross-fertilization between academia, farmers and industry if we’re to lead the next green revolution. RBC Climate Action Institute Lisa Ashton Myha T. Canadian Alliance for Net Zero Agri-Food (CANZA) Kristjan Hebert Lorna McKercher Shaun Haney Beverly Agar Kyle Scott Cameron Charlton Nevon Faucher James Fehr Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/ Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada François-Philippe Champagne Rod Whitfield

AgTrade and NatureBase were delighted to have the opportunity last week to welcome a ministerial delegation, including a group of entrepreneurs, visiting from Indonesia. The discussions were broad ranging, covering dairy genetics, biosecurity and nature-based solutions. One of the topics discussed was that of bridging finance for farmers looking to transition to more sustainable practices on-farm. It is a common theme across jurisdictions globally. So, we thought it topical for this week to share the Yale Center for Business and the Environment report - Bridging the Regenerative Agriculture Financing Gap (link in comments). Whilst US-focused, the report touches on many of the themes we see as challenges here in Australia, and as shared during our discussions with our visiting delegation last week: "Short-termism is the most fundamental challenge of all those listed . . . reinvestment back into soil health requires a much longer timeframe of at least five years, if not 10 years.” We see this short-termism pervade through both conventional debt and equity financing structures. The local market here echoes further challenges raised in the report - information gaps, lender unfamiliarity with the return profiles of the practices, short-term focus on annual returns to the detriment of long-term profitability and financial stability, which is only growing in importance with increased climate extremes. We've had an increasing number of discussions across our partner network about the importance of place-based initiatives recently. In that context, we share one more highlight from the report and, for the rest, encourage you to take a full look at what is a pretty comprehensive, well-crafted primer: "If farmers know one thing - it is the hyper-local agricultural context of their farmland. According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022 the average finance employee had been at her job for ~5 years. That is longer than the nationwide average of 4.1 years, but it pales in comparison to the deep roots farmers sink in their communities: The median producer in the United States has been running his farm for more than 21 years. The farmers we spoke with stressed that their wealth of experience gives them a deep, intuitive understanding of a place, what works and what does not, what has been tried before, and what has yet to be tested. That understanding has been earned through years of hard work, and investors who discount this experience do so at their own peril." #sustainableag #ecosystemservices #agtransition

The European agricultural sector is on the cusp of a transformative opportunity. While recent data from the European Commission highlights a significant €62 billion financing gap, particularly impacting small farms and young farmers, this challenge presents an enormous potential for growth and innovation. By closing this financing gap, we can not only support the sector’s development but also accelerate its transition towards sustainable and regenerative practices. The challenges faced by Europe's agricultural SMEs are multifaceted. Traditional financial institutions often perceive farming as a high-risk venture, leading to stringent lending criteria that many small-scale farmers cannot meet. This financial exclusion stifles innovation and prevents the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices essential for combating climate change. Agreement signed in Luxembourg with the Vice President of the European Investment Bank prof. Teresa Czerwińska and  Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, mark an important step forward to providing accessible financing solutions tailored to the unique needs of farmers. Direct guarantee agreement is poised to unlock around €15 million in new debt financing for approximately 550 farmers in Poland and Lithuania. Together, we are empowering farmers to achieve sustainable transformation, fostering resilience, growth, and environmental stewardship across European agriculture.

#Read | Africa’s agri-tech revolution – the challenges, the opportunities, and what more needs to be done. Read more in the article below.

An ambitious 12-year mission concludes with the report 'Strides in Sustainable Agricultural Intensification: Contributions of the Africa RISING Program'. Read about innovations that made a difference, how to empower the next generation, scaling up successes for wider impact, and more here: https://lnkd.in/d8-v48gy