White Paper: Financing Agrifood Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity: Towards a new pact for mobilizing capital, reforming systems, and driving transformation at scale. Issued on 2025 by GDPRD

As global leaders gather for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, the urgency to reshape how we finance development has never been clearer. A critical challenge—and opportunity—lies in elevating agrifood systems as a strategic investment priority. 

Why agrifood systems? Why now? 

Transforming agrifood systems is one of the smartest investments the world can make—for prosperity, security, sustainability, and resilience. Agrifood systems are deeply interconnected with nearly every major development issue—from climate and health to employment, education and peace. 

The numbers speak for themselves: 

• Agrifood systems employ more than one in three people globally, particularly women and youth.
• The cost of inaction—from environmental damage to poor health outcomes—adds up to US$12 trillion annually.
• The cost of transformation is just a fraction of that—US$1.2 to US$1.4 trillion per year—yet could unlock up to US$4.5 trillion annually in new business opportunities. 

Investing in these systems is not only a moral imperative, but an economic and security imperative as well—particularly in fragile and conflict-affected regions where hunger and instability are on the rise. 

A clear, practical agenda for change 

The White Paper outlines a bold yet practical agenda to unlock the capital, partnerships, and innovation needed to drive change at scale. To achieve this transformation, the White Paper presents six priority areas for immediate action. 

A call to action 

The global community needs a new financing model that aligns public and private capital, leverages innovation and positions agrifood systems at the centre of sustainable development. 

Read the White Paper and learn how we can shape a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future—starting with our food systems.