Our financial system is fragmented. As in other facets of our lives, distinctions between each desired outcome also characterize how we think about and manage money. Financing for agriculture is largely disconnected from financing for the environment; investments in commodities disregard the places that produce them; and development finance that is targeted to urban areas largely ignores connected rural regions.
The attractiveness of these differentiations is obvious: they help make complex decisions simpler. However, scientific data and experience consistently tell us that social, economic, and ecological systems are interconnected. The numerous interconnections between the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a prime example.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization projects an additional $83 billion per year is needed in developing countries to meet future agricultural production needs. However, agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, soil erosion and it unavoidably impacts the communities in which it is practiced. If this funding flows through our current system that emphasizes sectoral divisions, we risk spending money on food production while harming the underlying ecosystem services on which it depends. While they may make for a tidy ledger, segmented financing structures don’t work.
About the authors
Seth Shames
Seth Shames is director of the Policy and Markets program, where he leads analysis of policies and financial mechanisms to support integrated agricultural landscape management and directs EcoAgriculture’s policy advocacy work. His areas of work have included payments for ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, climate-smart agriculture, the integration of agricultural issues into the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, environment and development policies in East Africa, eco-labeling of agricultural products and sustainable biofuels production.
Krista Heiner
Krista Heiner leads projects within EcoAgriculture Partners’ Policy and Markets Program and supports the Policy Working Group for the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative. She manages the development of the Kenya Learning Landscape Network and is leading a national-level assessment of the opportunities and challenges for integrated landscape investment in Kenya, among other projects.
Aiden Irish
Aiden Irish is a research associate supporting EcoAgriculture Partners’ policy and markets work. He supports research on finance and investment coordination mechanisms to support integrated landscape management and finance coordination projects in Kenya. He is also contributing to EcoAgriculture Partners' policy analysis work, specifically on rural-urban linkages and sustainable urban food systems.
