European Union
The European Union is one of FAO’s largest voluntary funders of FAO’s programmes. The FAO Investment Centre and the European Union have stepped up their collaboration around five investment-related initiatives: AgrIntel (2018); AgrInvest (2018); Food Systems Assessments (SASTI) (2021) followed by the Sustainable Agrifood Systems Intelligence (SASI) (2022); the Global Sustainable Cocoa Initiative (2022) and Transforming and Empowering Resilient and Responsible Agribusiness (TERRA) (2025).
The AgrIntel initiative seeks to scale up direct and indirect investments in the agrifood sector through derisking financial instruments coupled with technical knowledge. Through AgrIntel, the Centre reviews and advises the EU on investment and technical assistance proposals submitted by three blended agrifood funds and one blended facility. From its launch in 2018 through 2024, these four vehicles have signed 120 agrifood transaction across emerging countries, amounting together to EUR 530 million (circa USD 582 million).
Drawing lessons from this experience, the Centre also acts as a knowledge partner offering guidance to support the European Commission’s strategic orientations and decision-making within the agrifood sector and in the field of blended finance.
In 2025, the FAO Investment Centre, the European Union and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) launched TERRA – Transforming and Empowering Resilient and Responsible Agribusiness. This innovative de-risking programme aims to boost local financial institutions’ lending to agrifood small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa through a mix of dedicated credit lines, guarantees and tailored technical assistance.
Between 2020-2024, the AgrInvest project, financed by the European Union and FAO, helped the Uganda Development Bank to increase its agrifood lending portfolio. Support included a feasibility study on a new climate finance facility, training on agri-risk management and loan appraisal, and pilot initiatives with the UN Capital Development Fund on digital finance and big data analytics.
In 2021, FAO, the European Union and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), partnered with governments and national stakeholders to conduct agrifood systems assessments and consultations in 49 countries. Building on these assessments, FAO, the European Union and Agrinatura – a consortium of European research institutions – launched a second phase, Sustainable Agrifood Systems Intelligence known as SASI. The aim is to improve the availability of knowledge and guidance, globally and nationally, on the institutions, policies and investment needed to accelerate the transition to sustainable agrifood systems.
Through the European Union’s Global Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, FAO is conducting various studies on the cocoa-chocolate value chain and providing long-term technical assistance globally, regionally and in the three cocoa-producing countries of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
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Initiatives
Latest stories
Public expenditure on food and agriculture in Mauritania: shifting from short-term support to long-term investment
12/11/2026
The agrifood sector plays a central role in Mauritania’s economy, livelihoods and food security, and government spending has grown over time to support...
Directions in Investment
Soil health and fertilizer: Policy and investment prospects in sub-Saharan Africa
17/06/2026
A new technical report – Soil health and fertilizer: Policy and investment prospects in sub-Saharan Africa – highlights the urgent need for a more...
TERRA: expanding access to finance for Kenyan small and medium agrifood companies
01/06/2026
A EUR 30 million credit line from the Italian bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to Equity Bank Kenya will ease access to finance for small and...
Five Years and Five Levers to Roll Back Cocoa Swollen Shoot Disease in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
05/05/2026
A regional workshop brought together key stakeholders involved in combating the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire,...
Latest publications
Understanding child labour in the Republic of Cameroon’s cocoa sector
11/2026
As part of efforts to strengthen the sustainability and legality of the cocoa sector, a vital segment of the domestic economy in Cameroon, FAO supported technically and methodologically the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MINTSS) – and the National Institute for Statistics (NIS) to carry out a study to assess the prevalence, characteristics and drivers of child labour in the sector.
Strengthening cocoa producer organizations in Cameroon in the framework of the European Union Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR)
11/2026
Strengthening cocoa producer organizations in Cameroon in the framework of the European Union Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) is critical. Well-structured and high-performing producer organizations are essential to support farmers in meeting these new sustainability standards and to ensure their continued access to international markets.
Cocoa production in the Republic of Cameroon: Mapping where cocoa grows and what it means for forests
11/2026
Reliable national maps on forests, land cover and cocoa production areas are essential to demonstrate that cocoa production is deforestation-free, in relation to the EUDR cut-off date of 31 December 2020. To address this challenge, the Cameroon Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (MINFOF) and the FAO Investment Centre under the EU Sustainable Cocoa Programme, led a technical working group of national stakeholders.
Bridging the living income gap for cocoa producers in the Republic of Cameroon: Insights and policy recommendations from a large-scale household survey
11/2026
Approximately 68 percent of cocoa-producing households earn less than the Living Income Benchmark, the income level required to secure nutritious food, adequate housing, education for children, access to healthcare services, and other basic needs. Despite recent price increases between 2022 and 2025 that suggest improved income prospects, farm-gate prices remain, on average, insufficient to ensure a decent standard of living.
Analyzing agrifood investment in Mauritania - Findings from a public expenditure review and policy analysis
10/2026
This brief produced with EU and FAO teams in Mauritania, was developed under the EU–FAO–Agrinatura Sustainable Agrifood Systems Intelligence (SASI) initiative. It reviews public expenditure on food and agriculture in Mauritania from 2009 to 2022, alongside analyses of rice, fisheries and livestock. It finds that spending has focused heavily on short-term food security, while fisheries and livestock remain underfunded relative to their economic importance.