Amsterdam-based Agri3 Fund offers risk guarantees, credit enhancements and technical assistance to financial institutions to support lending to smallholder farmers, cooperatives and other sustainable agri-businesses. It was launched at Davos in 2020 by Rabobank and the UN Environment Program as part of their effort to mobilize $1 billion for climate smart agriculture and forest restoration, with Rabobank and the Dutch government anchoring the blended finance fund with $40 million each.
The fund has landed $2.4 million from the SDG Impact Finance Initiative or SIFI, a Swiss public-private partnership that mobilizes private investments in emerging markets. The fresh funding follows a $13.5 million secured from the Global Environment Facility in 2023 and a $35 million commitment in first-loss capital from FMO.
“SIFI’s commitment is a strong signal of confidence in our blended finance model and in the transformative potential of sustainable agriculture to address climate change and protect nature,” Agri3’s Ineke Keers said.
Partnerships
Agri3 Fund teamed up with Israel- and Singapore-based micro-irrigation products maker Rivulis and Dutch asset financier DLL earlier this year to finance sustainable irrigation practices, starting with a pilot in Peru. Agri3 and Rabobank expanded their Renova Pasto conservation and restoration program this year to include crops like soy.
The initiative started as a 10-year loan program to help cattle farmers restore degraded pastureland and forests. In 2024, the fund partially guaranteed ETG Group’s $115 million sustainability-linked loan facility, aimed at cutting deforestation, training farmers on climate-smart practices and improving farmer livelihoods across ETG’s supply chains in Africa.
