The United Nations Food Systems Summit convened nations, stakeholders, experts, and diverse coalitions, to identify transformational actions and leverage points for building healthy, sustainable food systems for all. Part of that process was the Finance Lever, co-led by the World Bank, IFPRI and the Food and Land Use Coalition.
Their technical work—building on consultations and responding to recognized challenges for shifting food-related financial flows—resulted in the publication of a new Food Finance Architecture. A policy brief [PDF] lays out the building blocks for how banks, investors, development institutions, companies, farmers, and governments can shift capital out of high-carbon, unequal, extractive food assets and into inclusive, climate-smart, circular business models that benefit the people and planet.
The Food Finance Architecture contains five core “imperatives”—the central 5 elements of the wheel above—needed to optimise public spending and mobilise private capital for a global food system transformation:
- Reshape public support and incentives using subsidies and market mechanisms to redirect capital out of unhealthy, destructive assets to support public goods;
- Integrate health, environmental and social risks into financial decision-making, future-proofing portfolios by measuring & disclosing food system risks and redirecting investment into new business models to mitigate exposure;
- Scale fit-for-purpose financial products and business models, mobilising private capital by de- risking and mainstreaming innovative financial instruments & regenerative assets while improving access to finance & services for primary producers through new supply chain partnerships;
- Secure equitable food systems by rebalancing bargaining power, investing in rural infrastructure to drive sustainable production & development and implementing fair prices and living wages to ensure access to affordable, healthy diets; and
- Strengthen food system governance and stability as the underpinning foundation of the entire food system to build physical and financial resilience to shocks.
The Good Food Finance Network is in the process of developing a cross-sector multi-year Action Agenda that will map and catalyze innovations in 14 action areas, to address these imperatives for food finance transformation.
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