Private Investment
Creating the right business conditions can help crowd in much-needed private agrifood investment. This is essential, especially amid shrinking public spending and development aid and the fast-approaching 2030 Agenda deadline.
The FAO Investment Centre is expanding its work on private investment. It partnered with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support private investment in 20 countries through the Bank’s USD 1.3 billion food and agribusiness portfolio in 2025, extending this collaboration to five countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
FAO’s collaboration with EBRD includes advisory services such as identifying investment opportunities; facilitating public-private policy dialogues; promoting greener agrifood systems; developing food safety and quality standards and sustainable agritourism; supporting investment in digital solutions; and diversifying exports.
The Centre provided advisory support to intermediate finance for three local banks in sub-Saharan Africa worth USD 66 million – two projects approved by the European Investment Bank to improve access to finance for small-scale producers and agribusinesses in Ethiopia and one in Rwanda co-financed by IFAD and GAFSP to strengthen farmer organizations and unlock commercial finance.
Initiatives
Latest stories
The “Portraits of food heritage” installation at the FAO “From seeds to foods” exhibition in Rome!
09/10/2026
The FAO From Seeds to Foods global exhibition is back for a second year! From 8 to 12 October 2026, under the theme Fostering Innovation for Food Security...
In Argentina, better water planning and investment are crucial for agricultural growth
24/07/2026
Reliable access to water for irrigation and livestock intake is increasingly critical for agricultural production and rural development in the face...
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Investment Briefs
Investing in people to promote agrifood transformation
09/06/2026
FAO Investment Centre and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) have released the fourth and final brief in a series exploring how finance, prices, technology...
Latest publications
Local sourcing - A guide for the hotel, restaurant, catering and tourism industries
05/2023
Local food sourcing strengthens links between HoReCa tourist businesses and farmers. It makes for a better guest experience, improves sustainability, gives local suppliers greater market access and creates business and employment opportunities in rural areas. It also promotes biodiversity, preserves traditional food production methods, reduces food waste and brings tourism revenue to more diverse rural areas.
Investing in agriculture human capital: Roles for the private sector
04/2023
The objective of this brief is to assess the role of the private sector in developing human capital among smallholders. It identifies private sector roles in developing agriculture human capital and assesses the advantages, limitations and challenges of private sector involvement in developing farmers’ capacities.
FAO Investment Centre - 2022 at a glance
03/2023
FAO is committed to helping countries achieve a healthier, more sustainable future. That means finding the right combination of policies, innovations and public and private investment to help them realize the promise of the four betters – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.
Evolution of food e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic
03/2023
The brief provides policy recommendations and identifies strategies and key areas of investment that are required for the sustainable development of FFV e-commerce. Governments, particularly urban authorities, must develop and promote a conducive institutional, regulatory and business environment to maximize e-commerce opportunities.
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 so and the considerable opportunities these technologies present, while offering sharp insights into their potential contribution and how best to sustain them.