The Food Securities Fund has published its 2025 Annual Impact Report, marking 5 years since the Fund began operations in March 2021. The report reflects on what has been achieved and what this experience tells us about the role that appropriately structured pre-harvest working capital can play in strengthening supply chains.
The Food Securities Fund focuses on working capital, which is critical for well-functioning supply chains. Access to timely liquidity enables aggregators, the businesses that connect smallholder farmers with consumer-facing brands, traders, distributors and manufacturers, to purchase crops when they become available, pay farmers promptly, maintain commercial relationships and invest in the systems needed for resilient supply chains. The financing relationship also creates avenues for adressing climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, land degradation, biodiversity and local livelihoods.
Between March 2021 and December 2025, the Fund disbursed 22 loans to 11 aggregators linked to 10 Value Chain Partner companies, covering seven agricultural commodities across 10 countries, including five Least Developed Countries.
Highlights from the five-year report
Over its first five years, the Fund has:
- reached more than 151’000 smallholder farmers across 18 sourcing landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean;
- mobilised approximately USD 125 million for sustainable agricultural supply chains, 58% of which has come from private sector capital;
- supported the restoration of almost 188’000 hectares;
- supported more than 308’000 hectares under certified sustainable management;
- contributed to the distribution of more than 2.3 million seedlings; and
- supported farming practices estimated to have contributed to approximately 570’000 tCO₂e of carbon removals.
These outcomes reflect activities reported by borrowers using the methodologies described in the Annual Impact Report and should be considered alongside the Fund’s broader contribution to strengthening supply chains and improving market access for smallholder farmers.
Financing resilience amid volatility
Agricultural supply chains continued to experience significant commodity price and market volatility during 2025. When commodity prices rise, aggregators require additional working capital to purchase the same volume of produce. Without access to appropriate finance, businesses may reduce purchases, delay payments to farmers or withdraw from sourcing regions, weakening commercial relationships that often take years to establish.
At the same time, increasing interest in business resilience, traceability, sustainability and supply chain due diligence require continued investment in systems, farmer engagement and risk management. Access to suitable and timely working capital therefore remains closely linked to both commercial resilience and environmental and social performance.
Throughout 2025, the Fund continued to receive repayments across repeated lending cycles while maintaining its independent credit, environmental, social and governance assessment processes. Its Value Chain Partner structure continued to align commercial supply chain relationships with credit risk management and the mobilisation of additional private capital.
During the year, the Fund’s approach was also reviewed by an independent expert on behalf of Conservation International and the Global Environment Facility. The review concluded that the Fund provides a credible and well-structured approach to supporting sustainable agricultural supply chains, while identifying opportunities for continued learning and development.
Climate, biodiversity, land and livelihoods
The Fund’s approach is based on a simple premise: financing businesses at the center of agricultural supply chains creates opportunities to deliver environmental and social outcomes sustainably and at scale. The experience of the Fund’s first five years illustrates how this financing model can support both commercial, as well as measurable environmental and social, outcomes.
Alongside financing, the Fund’s technical assistance programme has helped borrowers address locally identified priorities. Projects in Burkina Faso, Honduras and Nigeria have focused on regenerative agriculture, women’s economic empowerment, organic certification, improved farming practices and market access. Rather than applying standardised interventions, each project is developed jointly with borrowers and local partners to respond to local priorities and strengthen the long-term resilience of businesses and farming communities. Two further projects commenced during 2026, focusing on dynamic agroforestry, composting and climate-smart cashew production. We look forward to sharing more about these initiatives in a separate article.
Looking ahead
Demand for appropriate pre-harvest working capital is expected to remain strong as agricultural businesses respond to changing markets, climate risks and evolving supply chain requirements.
In March 2026, the Green Climate Fund approved a USD 50 million investment in the Accountable Cocoa and Coffee Tranche (ACCT), a new sub-fund of the Food Securities Fund, together with USD 6 million in technical assistance grants. The programme will support cocoa, coffee and associated value chains across 10 countries in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, building on the Fund’s experience.
Clarmondial would like to thank the Fund’s investors, borrowers, Value Chain Partners, technical assistance partners and service providers for their continued collaboration over the past five years. We look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen resilient agricultural supply chains that create value for farmers, businesses and the landscapes on which they depend.
The Food Securities Fund is a Luxembourg-domiciled investment fund classified as Article 9 under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). It is managed by Vistra Fund Management S.A. and advised by Clarmondial AG. The 2025 Annual Impact Report is available to investors only.
