ForumforAg Food Systems Podcast Summary

In this edition of the Food Systems Podcast, recorded at the Forum’s Annual Conference 2025, Alex Turk talks to Francis Malige of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Here is a summary of the conversation.

You’ve talked about mainstreaming nature-based solutions. But where does the money come from? Are they good for business, and will investors be putting their money into them to find solutions at scale?

It’s a complicated question. EBRD is a European-based institution, but we cover three continents from Mongolia to Morocco. We see that banks generally struggle with agriculture because it’s not one sector, and the financing cycles and risks are very different depending on the crop. In some countries, there are also issues with land ownership, which prevents using land as collateral. However, we observe that financing agriculture is essential for food security, and banks that try it succeed. Once they are comfortable financing agriculture, they are ready to accompany their farming clients into more sustainable solutions.

Where do you see areas of that investors are interested in, and where there is growth, given that headlines can be depressing?

Farmers see climate change and water issues. They see drought and more rain and so on.  The real question is not the investors, because for investors to get involved, you need banks that can work with farmers. Farmers are individually too small to go to capital markets, so they need a bank to intermediate the financing. I see a lot of potential for productivity gains in small farms, which is key to the development of those countries where we work. For larger farms that are still not at a scale to tap into capital markets, banks need to bring them together into one vehicle to attract investors.

What are the obstacles to scaling these solutions?

The number one issue is that banks need to be more comfortable with the risk of agriculture. This starts with understanding the risk better and then learning to diversify it. Agriculture depends on climate, but climate issues don’t happen in every crop in every part of the world every year. Banks that embrace agriculture learn to diversify their portfolio into different crops and regions to manage risk. That is the starting point.

Is the energy transition an opportunity here?

There is indeed. I see too many farms where greenhouses are heated with coal. Moving to natural gas or heat pumps costs money and needs to be reflected in the farmers’ revenue. The EBRD has programmes that support the cost of these investments so that farmers pay the right price.

What message did you leave to the forum today?

Despite geopolitical risks and tensions, I come out with hope and optimism because I see the resourcefulness of farmers. I recently visited Turkmenistan and saw entrepreneurs who turned a piece of desert into a great strawberry farm. When there’s a will, there’s a way, and the entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector fill me with hope.

I know it’s your first time at the Forum. How important is the Forum today for sharing this message?

I would certainly encourage anybody with an interest in the future of farming to take a step back from their daily business to come here, listen and participate.

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