Programme / session 2E

Frontiers of financial innovation for climate-resilient agriculture

09:45 – 10:45
Challenge session
This session addresses the urgent need to scale investment in agricultural innovation to strengthen climate resilience and food security, especially in lower-income countries. It will explore how investors, governments and agricultural sector stakeholders can collaborate to close finance gaps and support innovative, resilient, commercially viable agri-businesses.
Head and shoulders photo of Aditi Mukherji.
Aditi Mukherji
Director, climate change adaptation and mitigation impact action platform
CGIAR
Head and shoulders photo of Tyler Ferdinand.
Tyler Ferdinand
Climate innovation strategist
BFA Global

Agricultural innovation is an essential pillar of climate resilience. The dramatic exposure of the farm sector to climate impacts puts regional socio-economic stability and global food security at high risk. There are major global finance gaps for building agricultural resilience and these gaps are especially acute for agricultural systems in lower-income countries, which commonly lack adequate mechanisms for steering financing toward innovation pre and post farm gate.

In addition to investment in resilient, low-emission production methods and technologies (including aquatic food systems), these agricultural systems often also require investment in infrastructure, information systems and business models that enable producers and agri-entrepreneurs to create commercially viable businesses that serve as pathways to resilience. 

By employing a problem-solving mindset, this session will explore ways that investors, governments and agricultural sector stakeholders can collaborate in context to increase the volume and continuity of investment in agricultural innovation for resilience.