Finance and Investments Working Group

Objectives

1. Tracking, analyzing and influencing (public and private) investments and existing funds for agroecology

How

  • On-going work on the tracking of investments (follow up of the Berlin workshop): Share and promote methodology once finalized
    Work by TIFS on the analysis of investments funds for AE (pilot starts in Africa)
  • Regional funds of the Agroecology Fund
  • Influence donors/investors/funding vehicles to integrate agroecological principles into investment decision making
  • Share and promote what already exists (funding vehicles, funding programmes) to coalition members

2. Support governments in increasing their funding for AE approaches/policies

How

  • Support peer-to-peer exchange with government officials on how to reallocate/shift resources to implement AE approaches/policies
    Governments need an AE strategy in place to put their own funding and budgetary allocations: Link to policy working group for peer-to-peer exchanges on how to develop such strategies
  • Support governments in mobilizing and re-directing (e.g. repurposing conventional agricultural subsidies) funds for AE through programmes or connect to existing funds

3. Promoting the Agroecological Business Case to increase public and private investments

How

  • Promoting inspiring and promising showcases (e.g. agricultural enterprises or agroecological funding vehicles) -> link to communication/advocacy working group
  • Convince donors/investors about the multidimensional returns of AE (economic, ecological and social benefits of AE) by relevant tools, reports and convenings-> Link to research working group and advocacy working group
  • Show to donors and investors what transformative investments are (e.g. work by TIFS)
  • Conduct match-makings between AE enterprises and donors/investors

    Outputs

    The group has worked on the Agroecology Finance Assessment Tool, a collective online tool which provides a methodological framework based on the 13 principles of agroecology elaborated by the HLPE to measure progress in finance towards agroecology and provides a guide to elaborate projects implementing agroecology. It was launched in October 2023 and it can be accessed here.

    The working group also played a crucial role in the organisation of the Agroecology donors convening (Rome, 20-21 October 2023).

    • A report of the gathering is available here.
    • The executive summary is available here.

    Co-Facilitators

    Jasmin Hundorf - GIZ

    Jasmin Hundorf is an international economist with more than 14 years of experience in international cooperation for sustainable development. She worked with several international organizations in Germany, Latin America and the United States at the interface of climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable rural development. Jasmin is currently Head of Project (Co-Lead) Resilient Rural Areas at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

    Daniel Moss - Agroecology Fund

    Daniel serves as Co-Director at Agroecology Fund. Daniel has worked in philanthropy for over three decades, channeling resources to community-led organizations and collaborations. Trained as a community organizer, he strengthened tenant organizations in public housing in Boston and then lived in El Salvador and Mexico for five years, working in support of social movements defending rights to land and water. He worked as an on-farm trainer in a workers’ rights certification program and with Latin American water utilities to strengthen watershed conservation strategies. He holds a Master’s degree in City Planning from MIT and writes frequently on food and water issues for traditional and online media.

    Banner photo credit: “Clagett Farm Community Supported Agriculture Oct 28, 2017 at 1-056_sharing” by krossbow is licensed under CC BY 2.0.