A $ 3 billion fund for sustainable soy and livestock

Financial institutions and agri-food companies announced today, within the framework of the COP26 climate summit, investments worth US $ 3 billion (2.6 billion euros) in livestock and soy production programs that prevent deforestation in South America.

The eight promoters of the initiative – baptized as Innovative Financing for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC, in its acronym in English) – are the first signatories of a project whose objective is to reach US $ 10 billion (8.6 billion euros). ).

The firms AGRI3, & Green Fund, DuAgro, Grupo Gaia, JGP Asset Management, Syngenta, Sustainable Investment Management and VERT announced their commitment at the climate summit held in Glasgow (Scotland).

Soy production and livestock are two of the main factors that cause deforestation and modification of the vegetation of valuable ecosystems.

This initiative complements other efforts to improve the production chain, product traceability systems, reforms on land use rights and trade policies.

The funds committed today “will accelerate the flow of capital to farmers, so that they move towards more sustainable business models,” said the promoters of the project in a joint statement.

“The commitment of new funds to support the recognition of the rights of indigenous and local communities over land has been one of our demands for a long time, so we must applaud it,” said the vice-coordinator of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations at the Amazon Basin (COICA) Tuntiak Katan.

The president of & Green Fund, Nanno Kleiterp, indicated for his part that his objective is “to demonstrate that the production of inclusive and sustainable goods that avoid deforestation can be commercially viable.”

“Agriculture and forests can play a major role in mitigating climate change, but scaling business models that promote sustainability and land conservation requires the mobilization of significant amounts of capital,” according to the director of the AGRI3 Fund. , Nick Moss.

His firm’s goal is “to be able to direct large amounts of resources from the financial sector to support investments that promote sustainable agriculture,” he added.