Report Suggests Sustainable Agriculture Investment Pays Off
Exploring the nascent field of sustainable farmland investment, a new report from the Yale Center for Business and the Environment found that innovative investment strategies focused on sustainable agriculture appear to deliver financial, environmental, and social returns.
Though industrial agriculture has long been seen as an efficient method for feeding the world—the United Nations predicts food production will need to increase by 70 percent by 2050—long-term concerns are growing around negative environmental externalities and climate change vulnerability.
Sustainable farming has emerged as a potential alternative solution. Authored by two Yale students, this report is an attempt to understand the provenance, strategies, key trends, value drivers, and structural challenges of investment in sustainable farming. (The authors adhere to the definition of sustainable food systems put forth by the Royal Society.)
Ollivier Girard/CIFOR