FAO Investment Centre
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Annual Review 2019 - at a glance

Sustainable food systems are key to tackling our most pressing challenges – from ending hunger and poverty to preserving the health and well-being of people and the planet.

The FAO Investment Centre plays a pivotal role in this, thanks to its strong footprint at country level, its 56 years of partnerships with investors and its track record of scaling up investment. The many notable achievements the FAO Investment Centre and partners made in 2019 give me hope that we are moving in the right direction.

QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

Who we are

Founded in 1964, the Centre helps countries make more and better investments in agriculture to reduce poverty and hunger, improve rural livelihoods and protect the environment.

Three-way partnerships with IFIs and governments

Partnerships to support public investment

The Centre supports FAO members to make good quality public investments. Our unique business model is based on longstanding partnerships with international financing institutions, as well as a culture of delivering results. We provide tailored investment support at every stage – from project identification, design and appraisal to technical assistance, supervision and evaluation.

Total amount of investment mobilized in 2019

Total amount of investment mobilized during 2019


Investment Centre assignments by type of activity in 2019

Total amount of investment mobilized during 2019
Total amount of investment mobilized during 2019



New public investment projects designed with substantial FAO Investment Centre support and financed by IFIs in 2019

New public investment projects designed with substantial FAO Investment Centre support and financed by IFIs in 2019
Source: FreeVectorMaps.com, 2014 - modified by Teikna Design


Share of public investment projects by partner IFIs in 2019

Share of public investment projects by partner IFIs


Partnerships to support private investment

The Centre partners with IFIs and other actors to promote a better environment for responsible and sustainable private sector investment in food and agriculture. We provide strategic and technical advice to impact investment funds and blended finance operations, most notably with the European Union.

In 2019, we partnered with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to conduct sector analyses for a variety of commodities in various countries, identifying bottlenecks that hinder investment in food and agriculture and proposing sustainable solutions.

Map: FAO-EBRD support to key food and agriculture sectors in 2019
 

Partnerships to support private investment

Knowledge for investment

In 2019, we launched a knowledge for investment (K4I) programme to elevate best practices in investment support and to enhance our capacity development efforts. We partner with research centres and IFIs to provide strong evidence, best practices and sound analytical work that contribute directly to improving the quality of investments.

Photo montage from FAO Investment Days, Rome, December 2019. All photos ©FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto.


The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this/these map(s) do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.