In 2040, 9 out of 10 meals
are within planetary boundaries
PROTOTYPE
New financial solutions for food production
In order for Sweden to produce food within the planet’s limits, major investments in innovation, new technology and new agricultural practices are required. At the same time, many small and medium-sized agricultural businesses struggle to access the funding required for this transition.
This prototype explores how new financing solutions could be developed to provide the agricultural sector with better opportunities to invest in sustainable production, increased resilience, and long-term competitiveness.
A sustainable transition requires new financing solutions
Many innovations in agriculture involve high initial costs and uncertain payback periods. Traditional forms of financing are often not suited to the kinds of investments required to reduce climate impact, strengthen biodiversity, and increase the resilience of the food system.
At the same time, the need for transformation is great. In an uncertain world, issues relating to Sweden’s food supply, food security and the sustainable use of resources are becoming increasingly important.
From insights to practical application
By developing new financing models, more agricultural businesses can be given the opportunity to invest in innovations that:
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Reduce environmental and climate impact
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Enhance biodiversity and resource efficiency
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Increase farm profitability and resilience
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Facilitate generational succession and long-term ownership
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Contribute to a stronger Swedish food supply
The findings from the prototype will be incorporated into the Innovation Platform’s ongoing work.
The next step is to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the most promising funding models and test them through collaboration between the agricultural sector, investors, public authorities and other relevant stakeholders.
We are now seeking dialogue with organisations that wish to contribute to the development of future funding solutions for sustainable food production.
Actors: KRINOVA, RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden),
A forum for new financing models
To jointly explore new avenues for financing innovation in agriculture, we have brought together stakeholders from the agricultural sector and the financial system for round-table discussions over the course of the year.
As part of this work, we have also conducted interviews within the platform with stakeholders from both sectors: food production and finance. The organisations that have taken part in this work represent:
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Banks and insurance companies
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Public and private investors
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Government bodies
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Interest groups
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Foundations and test beds
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Agricultural businesses
New ways of sharing risk and financing the transition
The study showed that there is interest in new forms of collaboration between different types of financiers.
A recurring theme was the need for models in which several actors share the risk. Examples highlighted included partnerships between private investors, government venture capital, foundations and pension funds. Some of the issues that need to be addressed include longer investment horizons for repayment, how profitability and sustainability can go hand in hand, and how sustainability impacts can be verified and reported without incurring excessive costs in terms of time, effort and resources.
The discussions also highlighted that future government support will continue to play an important role as a catalyst for further investment, particularly if it is designed in such a way as to enable small and medium-sized farms to benefit from such support.