ACT Fund will build farmers’ livelihoods says CFC at the Financing for Development Forum

The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) highlighted how its Agricultural Commodity Transformation (ACT) Fund can unlock the potential of agribusinesses in developing countries and increase food security, at the UN’s recent 2023 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum (FfD). 

Participating for the first time in the FfD, CFC’s ACT Investment Director, Michaël van den Berg, said the fund gave investors the opportunity to turn words into action, when it comes to driving economic development that addresses key SDGs such as No Poverty (SDG 1), Zero Hunger (SDG 2) and Climate Action (SDG 13).  He was speaking  at a panel discussion during the forum about powering sustainable food systems with innovative finance.

The fund enables private sector institutions to invest in small to medium sized (SME) agribusinesses that support smallholder farmers and might otherwise have been deemed as too risky. 

“ACT Fund uses different types of capital to de-risk investment and catalyze growth. We’ve provided USD20m of first-loss capital to attract risk averse capital from other parts of the capital market. We are putting our money where our mouth is and inviting others to join us to create high impact investments that address global challenges,” said Michaël. 

The fund offers private sector institutions a unique opportunity to benefit from the CFC’s expertise in developing sustainable supply chains that grow local prosperity, alongside its ability to identify viable agribusinesses that balance impact, return and risk.

CFC Managing Director Amb. Mohammed Belal also spoke at a panel event focussed on the need to safeguard food security, which has worsened in recent years. He described some of the key challenges smallholders in commodity dependent countries face, which the ACT Fund will help to address. 

Amb. Belal said: “As we speak food security is endangered because smallholders are struggling to cope with a number of issues. These include the increased price of inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and other essentials, and the fact smallholders continue to receive a tiny percentage of the value of their crops. At the CFC we’re working to shorten supply chains and make them more transparent and traceable, while providing the cheaper, de-risked financing agribusinesses and smallholders desperately need to thrive.”

Amb. Belal called on governments, institutions and private sector investors to increase their support for the CFC and its mission to grow smallholder incomes and build resilient supply chains. 

To discuss how the ACT Fund can help to achieve this, and the opportunity it offers to make ethical investments in agricultural commodities, get in touch with: managing.director@common-fund.org

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