Guide on Incentives for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems

Abstract

This guide aims to provide policymakers and government technical staff with guidance on how investment incentives can be used (and how they should not be used) to enhance responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

The guide identifies key policy challenges associated with investment incentives, and offers guidance on how to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate investment incentives that are aligned with national development priorities and that contribute to the realisation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. By focusing on the full ambit of investors—domestic and foreign, small-, mid- and large-scale—the guide provides a unique contribution regarding the use of incentives for responsible investment.

The guide covers the following:
• Part I explains what responsible investment in agriculture and food systems is and who the key stakeholders are, as a starting point for understanding how incentives may be used in this context.
• Part II provides an overview of investment incentives and discusses some of the most common types of incentives used.
• Part III offers general considerations on how incentives can be used—as well as how they should not be used—to improve the quality and quantity of responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.
• Part IV discusses how to plan for, design, monitor, and evaluate investment incentives for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

Keywords: 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, responsible investment incentives, key stakeholders, agriculture and food systems

JEL Classification: Q01, Q13, Q15, Q17, Q18, Q56, Q58, G15, G18