Agroecology Donor Convening: Exploring the potential of Public Development Banks in Agroecological Transitions

Agroecology Donor Convening:

Exploring the potential of Public Development Banks in Agroecological Transitions

17, October 2025 | Rome, Italy

The Agroecology Donor Convening brought together leading Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), International Organizations, and Public Development Banks(PDBs) to reflect on how PDBs can accelerate the agroecological transition.
The discussion naturally evolved along two main themes: first, examining the relationship between PDBs and agroecology, and second, addressing the practical challenges, needs, and partnerships required to scale agroecological investment, where the Agri-PDB platform emerged as a key facilitator. The session was organized by the Agroecology Coalition and Facilitated by Colin Anderson from the UVM Institute for Agroecology where he leads a research theme on financing agroecology.

Part I : Understanding the Relationship Between PDBs and Agroecology

Speakers underscored that PDBs can play a pivotal role in transforming finance for sustainable food systems. They connect public policy to local implementation and provide long-term, patient capital that can make agroecology financially viable.

• AFD (France) described agroecology as a credible approach to address food security, rural employment, biodiversity, and climate challenges. AFD supports national PDBs through concessional finance, technical cooperation, and policy dialogue to embed agroecology into national agricultural investment frameworks.
• KfW (Germany) positioned agroecology as a transformative approach that protects ecosystems while enhancing food and nutritional security. KfW promotes ecological intensification and bioeconomy, aligning financing with sustainability and domestic ownership.
• World Bank presented its AgriConnect Platform, which will mobilize USD 9 billion by 2030 to strengthen data systems, de-risk private investment, and improve productivity. Katie Freeman emphasized that scaling agroecology requires concrete, evidence-based investments and stronger collaboration between research institutions and financial actors.
• IFAD explained how agroecology is integrated into its operations through territorial and participatory project design, co-financing with producer organizations, and additional concessional resources from partners like the EU and GCF.
• FINAGRO (Colombia) highlighted its Credit Lines for Sustainable and Productive Transformation, combining climate and social goals. Collaboration with BIOFIN helps quantify transition costs and impacts, showing that financing the agroecological shift requires systemic support.
• Crédit Agricole du Maroc shared its experience as a hybrid commercial–development bank, highlighting that agroecology requires not only credit but also non-financial support such as training and technical assistance, which call for donor co-financing.
• Banque Agricole du Sénégal shared its efforts to develop green finance lines and risk-sharing mechanisms through partnerships with multilateral banks, emphasizing that stronger collaboration through the Agri-PDB Platform is key to making agroecology bankable.
• IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) showcased its 2024 Agriculture Sector Framework, which explicitly includes agroecology. Marion Le Pommellec emphasized the need for “smart subsidies” and participatory innovation systems to replace conventional, top-down agricultural incentives.
• NABARD (India) presented the Jiva program, which has already shown tangible benefits for farmers; reducing input costs by 40–60%, improving soil health, and enhancing household nutrition. By integrating livestock and crop systems, Jiva demonstrates how agroecology delivers real gains in resilience and productivity, serving as a replicable model for smallholders.
• Agri-PDB Platform emphasized that adopting agroecology is not optional but a necessity for PDBs to fulfill their development mandates and contribute to more resilient and inclusive food systems. Thierry Latreille highlighted that the Platform, co-led by IFAD and AFD, connects around 140 agricultural PDBs across 90 countries to promote peer learning, technical exchange, and capacity-building in support of the agroecological transition.

Part II : Challenges, Support Needs, and the Role of the Agri-PDB Platform

In the second half of the session, audience questions and open discussion focused on the structural challenges hindering agroecological investment and how PDBs can be better supported to scale their impact.

Speakers agreed that while political commitment and pilot programs exist, financing, risk management, and capacity remain key bottlenecks.

• Daniel Moss (Niagara Public Health) and Jane Malin-Katz (McKnight Foundation) asked how PDBs could sustain agroecology through political change and build closer connections with farmers and local actors.
  → Katie Freeman (World Bank) responded that continued dialogue and research partnerships are essential to identify tangible, actionable investments and ensure continuity beyond policy cycles.
• Marion Le Pommellec (IDB) stressed the need to be strategically adaptive: reframing agroecology through terms like regenerative agriculture or sustainable competitiveness when political contexts shift. She mentioned a regional GCF program combining technical and financial support, stressing that policy and finance must advance together.
• Abdou Aziz Diedhiou (Banque Agricole du Sénégal) proposed developing joint credit lines between multilateral and national development banks within the collaborative framework of the Agri-PDB Platform, to help de-risk long-term ecological investments.He highlighted that commercial banks often lack both visibility and appetite for agroecology’s slow-return projects, making stronger cooperation across institutions essential.
• Mustafa Chehhar (Crédit Agricole du Maroc) added that non-financial services—farmer training, awareness, and technical support—are indispensable but costly. These must be co-financed by donors and public banks, as commercial institutions alone cannot absorb such costs.
• Thierry Latreille (Agri-PDB Platform) synthesized the discussion: only 30% of global agricultural financing needs are met, and two-thirds already come from agricultural PDBs. Supporting these banks through technical assistance, concessional credit lines, and project-development tools is vital. He announced upcoming peer-learning events and training programs on Brazil’s ABC Program and PDB project-management methodologies, illustrating how the Platform is operationalizing this support.
• Viggo Oliveira (IFAD) noted that traditional return-on-investment tools undervalue agroecology’s resilience benefits. IFAD is revising its financial-analysis models to incorporate resilience metrics, aligning with the Platform’s push for better data and evidence.
• Julián García (FINAGRO) closed by emphasizing that smallholders cannot bear transition costs alone. Donors, governments, and consumers must share responsibility. He underlined that learning from peers through the Agri-PDB Platform helps national banks identify viable institutional models to extend credit and inclusion.
• Colin Anderson (UVM Institute for Agroecology) ended by noting that it is important to remember that the literature on agroecology is clear that it is most effective when it is farmer-led and community driven. He also noted that, while it is important to consider the question of “what to finance” in order to support agroecology, that it is equally important to consider “what not to finance”. This will help MDBs to strengthen safeguards to prevent damaging investments that erode the ability of farmers and communities to drive agroecological transformations.

Together, these exchanges underscored that the Agri-PDB Platform acts as an enabler, helping PDBs strengthen their capacities, connect with donors and technical partners, and access the knowledge and technical support needed to address these systemic challenges. By linking financial and technical actors, the Platform ensures that PDBs are equipped to turn agroecology into a scalable, system-wide transformation.