IDB urges new financing model for Caribbean resilience
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Dr Anna Toness, senior specialist in Agriculture and Rural Development at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), says Caribbean governments cannot afford to shoulder the rising cost of climate-proofing the region’s food systems alone, and must bring private investors into the effort at scale.
Toness said there is growing investor interest in resilient agriculture and food infrastructure, but governments and development partners must address the risks that are preventing more private capital from flowing into the sector.
“I think the financing question is the one that I would bring to the table. It’s one we’ve been thinking a lot about at IDB, and we want to respond to the charge to be working together, to be actionable, and to be very deliberate,” she said.
Speaking Tuesday during a plenary session on Building our Resilience: Climate Smart Agriculture and Fisheries at the 20th Caribbean Week Agriculture in Trelawny, Toness said public funding has so far carried much of the burden of building resilience, despite opportunities for private investment in areas such as resilient seed systems, cold storage, irrigation and agricultural technology.
“There are investors interested, whether that is in bonds, whether it is in capital markets, whether it is in funds and whether it is in banks, but there are barriers and risks that need to be mitigated,” she said.
Toness said countries also need to take a broader approach to financing, combining agricultural credit for farmers with equity for businesses and public-private partnerships for major infrastructure.
“In order for those farmers to use their agricultural credit, there needs to be a market system around them,” she said.
She said the IDB is exploring options including resilience-labelled bonds, debt swaps and public-private partnerships to help unlock investment across the region.
- Albert Ferguson
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