The Food Securities Fund (“Fund”) 2023 Impact Report was recently shared with investors. The Impact Report highlights the Fund’s ongoing commitment to mobilizing private capital for sustainable supply chains and landscapes in emerging and developing markets. It also includes Article 9 disclosures under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Reporting Directive (SFDR).
In its first three years, the Fund has provided financing to Borrowers so that they can advance responsible practices within smallholder-based supply chains, including action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and gender inequality. For example, in 2023, loans from the Fund enabled borrowers to implement and scale agroforestry and regenerative agriculture practices in supply chains and sourcing landscapes, including reforestation with indigenous seedlings, introduction of complementary crops for income diversification, and soil health interventions such as mulching.
Recognizing the need to improve local livelihoods, borrowers implemented a variety of social programs. These included the creation of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), upskilling and job creation for women and youth, and financial inclusion programs for rural women.
Borrowers also advanced traceability and certification within supply chains and sourcing landscapes, to create more value for local communities and maintain market access. The financing provided by the Fund helped borrowers implement activities to comply with new regulations (e.g., CSRD, CSDDD, EUDR) and new industry guidance. For instance, one borrower undertook a biodiversity baseline assessment as a step towards integrating recommendations from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
The Fund’s efforts have catalyzed transformative change in the lives of smallholder farmers. Highlights of the past 3 years of impact include:
- Rural livelihoods: borrowers worked with 92’012 smallholder farmers (19% female farmers), and they have employed 1’891 staff, including 814 youth (43%) and 1’091 women (58%).
- Nature-based Solutions (action on Global Environmental Benefits): borrowers have restored 56’503 hectares of land and distributed 1’237’604 seedlings. They have operated 71’976 hectares of land under certified sustainable practices. Borrowers have contributed to the sequestration of 120’282 tCO2e.
In 2023, the Fund renewed all loans it had made in the prior year, strengthening its relationships with portfolio companies, and confirming the role of the Fund as a long-term financing partner. New successful business relationships started, resulting in the Fund’s first investment in Latin America and the addition of a new institutional investor, who subscribed to the Fund in 2023, enhancing the Fund’s scale and impact.
Clarmondial would like to thank all stakeholders involved in making the Fund a success. We look forward to continuing to implement the objective of the Fund with our current and new partners.
