Responsible Development and Sustainable Investment
On Wednesday, May 9, I had the pleasure of hosting Farmfolio’s first webinar devoted exclusively to discussing our social impact initiatives. This engaging webinar focused on how Farmfolio is transforming the economic development of the regions and communities where it operates by creating sustainable economic dynamism that fosters both employment and investment. During the webinar, I focused on Farmfolio’s pilot program for social initiatives, which is ongoing at Ganaderia Pietrasanta (GP). In doing so, I first discussed the distinct socioeconomic context that characterizes the rural areas of the Colombian department of Cordoba, where GP is located. In this regard, the webinar participants learned about the social, political, and economic transformation that has been ongoing both around the city of Monteria and throughout Colombia more broadly in recent decades. Afterwards, the webinar explored the specifics of the communities that surround GP, where most of the farm employees live with their families. Finally, we discussed how Farmfolio is building lasting bonds with its community by hosting annual family activities, sponsoring a local sporting team, and through ongoing efforts to set up a children’s library.
Once again, we were very happy to see that our investors, friends, and stakeholders demonstrated interest and engagement when it comes to our social impact initiatives. Farmfolio looks forward to intensifying and scaling its community initiatives through the creation of a new entity devoted exclusively to social initiatives around our farms and projects. Lastly, Farmfolio looks forward to partnering with both regional and national organizations in order to extend and maximize the positive impact that it has on communities.
Responsible Development and Sustainable Investment
In recent years, investors and investment funds worldwide have integrated sustainability factors into their asset management practices. Environmental, social, and governance elements are amongst the main concerns when measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment. Similarly, development finance institutions, as key providers of microcredits and supporters of community development in developing regions, have also contributed to the discussion of responsible investing across the agriculture and development sectors.
Given that the NCREIF Farmland Index has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 over the last fifteen years, many individual and institutional investors are turning to the food and agriculture industry. Therefore, in 2014, the UN Global Compact launched the Food & Agriculture Business (FAB) principles. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. The FAB principles establish the attributes of well-functioning and sustainable food and agriculture systems, as well as articulate a common understanding of the resources, ecosystem services, and socio-economic impacts needed to build resilience into these systems and the markets that they serve. The FAB principles are designed to complement existing initiatives that advance sustainability in food and agriculture as well as serve as an umbrella over voluntary standards and technical compliance platforms. For example, the first AB principle is that businesses should support food and agriculture systems that optimize production and minimize waste, to provide nutrition and promote health for every person on the planet.
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