A new event is coming to the investment sector, focused on a rapidly growing segment of the agriculture and food space: regenerative food systems.
Over the past decade, driven in part by increasing population pressure and growing land resource scarcity, agriculture has come into its own as an asset class. Touting benefits such as strong long-term fundamentals, a solid inflation hedge, and attractive historical returns that are uncorrelated with other financial instruments, many investors see agriculture and food as a worthwhile pursuit. This is evident in the relatively recent growth in investment funds dedicated to farmland, in the number of venture capital firms started by food companies in the past five years and the amount of capital flowing into the space. And as the asset class has matured, so too has the sophistication with which investors think about it.
Regenerative agriculture employs methods that move beyond the “don’t harm” approach of sustainable agriculture and actually work to improve – or regenerate – the system by enhancing soil health, sequestering atmospheric carbon and improving water management, among other things. As consumers pay closer attention to the sources of their food and how it is produced, these practices are increasingly becoming a point of differentiation for the food supply chain, from farmers to food companies. The corresponding increases in demand for food that is produced ecologically are driving the opportunity for investment in the space. Investors from all areas of the spectrum are identifying regenerative as a means to securing the benefits of investment in agriculture and food, while maximizing impact, and maintaining quality of investments over the long-term.
Slated for September 30 – October 1 in Oakland, CA, the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum, will address this exciting new space. The jam-packed program will educate attendees on the investment opportunity in regenerative agriculture and food, arm them with strategies for successfully deploying capital, and provide meaningful time to meet other important players in the space.