Without transformative measures, carbon emissions attributed to agriculture and land use are projected to increase up to 90 percent by 2050. Expanding investments in food systems requires capital to catalyze transformation of sustainable food systems with technologies for higher yields, incomes, and productivity while reducing disproportionate carbon emissions. Amid concerns about food security and climate change, investment in climate-smart innovations related to food production and distribution is essential for political, environmental, and social stability. From perspectives of investment and business cases, panelists from across the MEA will address climate change and food as national security. New and adapted technologies, validated solutions for policy leadership, and systemic financial solutions must align interests while being market-driven, scalable, and financially viable. The network of farmers, suppliers, off-takers, and regulators must support flows of capital allocation to control costs of water, fertilizers, soil and seed science, and technologies, along with data-driven decision support tools to activate system- financing solutions for the transition to climate-smart and regenerative supply chains. Panelists will focus on how to achieve the goals by leveraging finance to increase capital access.  

Moderator

Simon Winter

Executive Director, Syngenta Foundation

Speakers

Michael Dunford

Regional Director for Eastern Africa, United Nations World Food Programme

Neelam Kumar Gupta

Head of Agriculture, J.B. Boda Group

Jake Levine

Chief Climate Officer, US International Development Finance Corporation

Paul Winters

Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Global Affairs and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Notre Dame; Executive Director, Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture, University of Chicago

Fatma Yehia

Senior Financial Analyst, Monetary Policy Implementation, Central Bank of Egypt