FAO Investment Centre

Knowledge for Investment (K4I)

Knowledge for Investment (K4I)

The Investment Centre provides a strong evidence-based voice on investment and finance solutions through its Knowledge for Investment (K4I) work. 

By harnessing FAO’s technical expertise and leveraging partnerships with key financing and research institutions, the Centre fills critical knowledge gaps. It also shares the latest thinking and practical tools to support investment. 

The growing body of investment knowledge products covers a wide range of topics – from scaling up agrifood investments for and by youth in Africa, to decarbonizing agrifood systems, among many others.

Latest stories
Bioinputs opportunities in Latin America, 3-language banner
27/05/2024
The recently published "Bioinputs: Investment Opportunities in Latin America" by the FAO Investment Centre provides a comprehensive examination of the potential role of bioinputs in the region’s transition towards more sustainable agri-food systems.
Can smallholder farmers in Honduras and Guatemala export deforestation-free coffee to the European Union
21/05/2024
The recently agreed European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to transform coffee production in Central America, bringing more sustainable practices which conserve forests and the environment.
Alessandro Marini in 2024
08/02/2024
The Investment Centre is strengthening its ability to respond to the growing and evolving needs of countries and investors. Alessandro Marini, who recently joined as Chief of the newly created West and Central Africa Service, shared his thoughts on the importance of embracing change and taking risks. 
Giovanni Muñoz in 2023
23/01/2024
Giovanni Munoz, the Investment Centre's Service Chief for East and Southern Africa, reflects on a long career in the agriculture sector, his vision for the region and why getting out of one's comfort zone is good.
Latest publications
Investment Briefs
Irrigating from space: Using remote sensing for agricultural water management
03/2023

This publication is part of the FAO-World Bank Cooperative Programme and aims to review and inform on the latest applications...

Investment Briefs
Prices and farmer investment - Evidence from experimental studies
01/2023

Changes in commodity prices may impact smallholder farmers in various ways: to what extent do higher prices transmit to the...

Investment Briefs
Investing in young agripreneurs - Why and how?
11/2022

There are few wage-earning opportunities for the 223 million unemployed or underemployed youth in developing and emerging economies. Many of...

Investment Briefs
Investing in food loss and waste - What's in it for development banks?
09/2022

Food loss and waste (FLW) is costly for people, the environment and economies, particularly during a time of global uncertainty....

Directions in Investment
Implications of the war in Ukraine for agrifood trade and food security in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia
09/2022

The Russian Federation and Ukraine are major global suppliers of cereals and sunflower oil, while the Russian Federation is also...

Country Investment Highlights
Digital technologies in the grain sector of Ukraine
09/2022

Comprising 30 percent of agricultural output and with an area of 15 million hectares, the grain sector is a pillar...

Investment Briefs
Funding digital transformation of land administration
09/2022

Digital transformation involves changing land administration systems from paper to 100 percent digital. It leads to greater activity and better...

Directions in Investment
Modernizing irrigation in Central Asia
09/2022

Modernizing irrigation systems in Central Asia could increase the productivity of the irrigation sector to meet growing food and export...

Directions in Investment
Investing in agricultural water, sustainably: recent trends in financing institutions
08/2022

Climate change, poverty, inequality, and other disruptive factors are changing the way water is used for agriculture. Although IFI investments...

Investment Briefs
Expanding Morocco's olive oil market. The role of consumers and industry response
08/2022

This brief was produced by the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), based...

Country Investment Highlights
Transforming agriculture in South Sudan. From humanitarian aid to a development oriented growth path
08/2022

FAO teamed up with the World Bank on this strategic analysis of the investment, policy and institutional support needed to...

Annual Reviews
FAO Investment Centre – Annual Review 2021
07/2022

For almost 60 years, the FAO Investment Centre has helped countries make more and better agrifood investments to reduce poverty,...