FAO Investment Centre

Innovation and Knowledge for Investment (IK4I)

Knowledge for Investment (K4I)

The Investment Centre provides a strong evidence-based voice on investment and finance solutions through its Innovation and Knowledge for Investment (IK4I) work. 

By harnessing FAO’s technical expertise and leveraging partnerships with key financing and research institutions, the Centre fills critical knowledge gaps. It also shares the latest thinking and practical tools to support investment. 

The growing body of investment knowledge products covers a wide range of topics – from scaling up agrifood investments for and by youth in Africa, to decarbonizing agrifood systems, among many others.

Latest stories
10/10/2026
A new report by the FAO Investment Centre, in collaboration with Tameo Impact Fund Solutions, seeks to reduce this knowledge gap through a comparative, data-driven analysis of 81 food and agriculture impact funds investing in priority in agrifood systems across low- and middle-income countries.
25/08/2026
A new brief from the FAO Investment Centre, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), examines the long-term, added value of investing in One Health – an integrated approach that recognizes the connections between human, animal, plant and ecosystem health.
14/07/2026

Interest in bioinputs gained traction in Latin America and the Caribbean several years ago, following the onset of the war in Ukraine and the resulting rising food and fertilizer prices. And it has picked up again amid the current standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea passage that moves between 20 and 30 percent of globally traded fertilizers. Much is known about the benefits of bioinputs. They can improve soil health and enhance ecosystem sustainability. They are also less harmful to human health and the environment.

02/06/2026

Agrifood systems are under growing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect biodiversity, improve water stewardship and ensure more sustainable production practices. Financial institutions are increasingly expected to support this transition by integrating sustainability considerations into lending decisions. 

Latest publications
Investment Briefs
Irrigating from space: Using remote sensing for agricultural water management
11/2022

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners have invested in developing databases and tools that apply remote...

Investment Briefs
Prices and farmer investment: Evidence from experimental studies
11/2022

Changes in commodity prices may impact smallholder farmers in various ways: to what extent do higher prices transmit to the farmer (or are they captured...

Investment Briefs
Investing in young agripreneurs: Why and how?
11/2022

Agripreneurship – entrepreneurial activity in agriculture – increases youth employment while teaching them the hard and soft skills they need to manage...

Investment Briefs
Investing in food loss and waste: What's in it for development banks?
09/2022

This Investment Brief summarizes the challenge of FLW. It focuses on identifying action areas for development banks to meet this challenge. Potential...

Directions in Investment
Implications of the war in Ukraine for agrifood trade and food security in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia
09/2022

The Russian Federation and Ukraine are major global suppliers of cereals and sunflower oil, while the Russian Federation is also...

Country Investment Highlights
Digital technologies in the grain sector of Ukraine
09/2022

Using extensive interviews, the report assesses the extent to which Ukrainian farmers have adopted digital technologies, the many barriers to them doing...

Investment Briefs
Funding digital transformation of land administration
09/2022

Digital transformation involves changing land administration systems from paper to 100 percent digital. It leads to greater activity and better efficiency...

Directions in Investment
Modernizing irrigation in Central Asia: Concept and approaches
09/2022

This publication, geared to policy-makers, sector managers and technical experts, draws on the findings of a study carried out by an FAO team through...

Directions in Investment
Investing in agricultural water, sustainably: Recent trends in financing institutions
08/2022

A research study carried out by the Stockholm Environment Institute, under the direction of the FAO Investment Centre, examines IFI investments and...

Expanding Morocco's olive oil market
Investment Briefs
Expanding Morocco's olive oil market: The role of consumers and industry response
08/2022

This brief was produced by the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), based on observations made during...

Country Investment Highlights
Transforming agriculture in South Sudan: From humanitarian aid to a development oriented growth path
08/2022

FAO teamed up with the World Bank on this strategic analysis of the investment, policy and institutional support needed to shift South Sudan’s agriculture...

Investment Toolkits
Strengthening buyer/supplier relationships: Practical guidance for Montenegrin retailers
06/2022

This document is intended to support Montenegrin retailers to engage in local sourcing, which can also strengthen their contribution to the achievement...