CDC, IFU, SIFEM, Norfund and DEG have collaborated on a new report which provides environmental and social (E&S) guidance to investors in agricultural value chains. The purpose of the report is to provide investors – including private equity fund managers – with clearer, more consistent and practical guidance on managing E&S risks and creating value from E&S performance.
Agricultural value chains comprise everything from irrigation equipment, agrochemicals, post-harvest storage services to traders. However, the most significant E&S risks and opportunities are typically upstream at the farm level (for example, through the health and pollution impacts of poor agrochemical use). The report expands the scope of E&S due diligence to include impacts at the farm level, and maps out a series of practical steps investors can take to reduce adverse impacts, generate commercial benefits as a result of better E&S performance, and also identifies broader development impacts (such as enhanced food security and diversified rural livelihoods). The report enables investors to make better-informed decisions with bigger positive impacts.
The full report is available via CDC’s ESG Toolkit for Fund Managers and via the link here
