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
Country Investment Highlights
Up-skilling human capital for value-chain competitiveness in Uruguay
10/2021

This publication looks at opportunities to increase key value chain efficiency and at the skills that are required to seize such opportunities. It identifies...

Country Investment Highlights
Institutionalizing farmer field schools: Twigire Muhinzi National Extension System in Rwanda
10/2021

One of the nine featured case studies is the Twigire Muhinzi National Extension System in Rwanda. Twigire Muhinzi is the government’s homegrown, decentralized...

Country Investment Highlights
Rural Empowerment and Agricultural Development Scaling-up Initiative in Indonesia
10/2021

Investing in farmers through public-private-producer partnerships Rural Empowerment and Agricultural Development Scaling-up...

Country Investment Highlights
Collaborating to develop agricultural skills: Capacity building agencies in the United States of America
10/2021

One of the nine featured case studies comes from the State of Mississippi in the United States of America. Agencies from i) formal education systems;...

Country Investment Highlights
Motivating farmers' market-oriented production: Smallholder horticulture empowerment and promotion approach in Kenya
10/2021

One of the nine featured case studies is Kenya’s Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion Approach, which provides technical and soft skills...

Country Investment Highlights
Jharkhand Opportunities for Harnessing Rural Growth Programme in India
10/2021

nvesting in farmers – or agriculture human capital – is crucial to...

Investment Toolkits
Renewable energy for agrifood chains: Investing in solar energy in Rwanda
09/2021

This report presents a structured approach to identify and estimate the market size of specific renewable energy technologies that have the potential...

Country Investment Highlights
Strengthening smallholder producers' skills and market access: Productive Alliance Programme in Chile
09/2021

This study analyses the impact of Chile´s Productive Alliance Programme (PAP) in terms of human capital development among small farmers. The programme,...

Investment Briefs
Investment planning for supply to agro-industrial parks: Lessons from sub-Saharan Africa
09/2021

This brief highlights potential challenges faced to increase agricultural production and improve supply chains when setting up agro-industrial parks,...

Annual Reviews
FAO Investment Centre - 2020 at a glance
07/2021

Making food systems more sustainable is not just about reducing carbon footprints, but also about creating jobs, reducing inequalities, improving efficiencies...

Country Investment Highlights
Investing in rural households through community promoters - The Haku Wiñay/Noa Jayatai programme in Peru
07/2021

This case study report was written as a part of the Agriculture Human Capital Investment Study, funded by FAO Investment Centre and with the support...

Country Investment Highlights
Professionalizing farmer organizations through private sector-led models: Capacity development initiatives in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire
06/2021

One of the nine featured case studies, funded by the Agribusiness Market Ecosystems Alliance with support from IFAD, explores three private sector-led...