Climate

Known as the country’s ‘food bowl’, the region’s capacity for year-round crop production as well as permanent plantings is a major draw for institutional investors – both domestic and foreign.

Gautier Quéru, investment director at Mirova, talks about the imminent launch of the firm's $300m fund, in partnership with the UN, to help achieve land degradation neutrality.

The funding will go towards increasing productivity through sustainable practices, ensuring food security, and promoting resilience and climate change mitigation.

Two Dutch government-linked entities have collaborated to provide a $4m loan supporting efforts of smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria to boost yields and adapt to climate change.

The fund should back private sector fund managers and speed the commercialization of emerging agri tech and practices in the country.

The development bank has approved a $180m loan that will help the country refurbish its aging and highly-inefficient irrigation network.

National Australia Bank expects cattle prices to fall further in 2017 due to softening demand abroad but is optimistic that weaker Australian dollar will help exports.

The California Energy Commission will provide an additional $5 million in December 2017 for the execution phase of the project, but it will require a $5 million match from additional investors.

A new report from the FAO of the United Nations warns that agricultural yield gaps in lower-income countries are likely to widen further because public and private investment is concentrated in high-income countries.

A fundamental transformation of existing food systems will be necessary before 2030 to ensure the world's ability to meet human needs within environmental constraints, according to a recent analysis from the World Economic Forum (WEF).