Normas Voluntarias de Sostenibilidad e Inversiones en Agricultura Sostenible

The document argues that financial service providers (FSPs) often avoid agricultural investments in developing countries due to perceived risks. It examines 12 Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and finds that while they provide high coverage for legal compliance, labor rights, and basic environmental conservation, they lack sufficient criteria regarding economic viability, transparency, and climate adaptation. The brief recommends that VSS incorporate more business-oriented criteria and that FSPs use these standards for ESG due diligence and structuring financial products to increase funding for sustainable farming.

• Financial service providers (FSPs) are reluctant to invest in the agricultural sector of developing economies due to perceived risks, including weather/climate change and market dynamics, creating a significant investment gap.
• Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) can reduce material financial risks by requiring farmers to implement practices that protect the environment and social welfare, thereby mitigating risks from poor farming practices and legal breaches.
• Analysis of 12 VSS shows high coverage of criteria for legal compliance, sustainability planning, and the protection of soil, water, forests, and basic labor rights.
• VSS exhibit low or insufficient coverage of criteria essential for FSPs, specifically regarding economic viability, transparency, anti-corruption measures, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• In the economic dimension, VSS lack strong requirements for business plans, financial resilience, and productivity improvements, with fewer than half of the 12 examined standards requiring business plans.
• Environmental coverage is strong for water, soil, and forest conservation, but weak for climate adaptation; only four of the 12 VSS require climate adaptation activities.
• Socially, VSS provide high coverage for labor rights and health and safety, but low coverage for community development and cultural preservation.
• FSPs can utilize VSS to improve ESG performance evaluation, structure financial products (such as sustainability-linked loans), and pre-select investment beneficiaries based on risk-impact profiles.
• Governments can support sustainable agricultural investment by securing land tenure (especially for women), promoting farmer organizations, and providing guarantees or insurance for VSS-compliant farmers.

APA

Larrea, C. (2023). Normas Voluntarias de Sostenibilidad e Inversiones en Agricultura Sostenible. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-standards-investments-sustainable-agriculture-es.pdf

Chicago

Larrea, Cristina. Normas Voluntarias de Sostenibilidad e Inversiones en Agricultura Sostenible. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-standards-investments-sustainable-agriculture-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Larrea |first1=Cristina |title=Normas Voluntarias de Sostenibilidad e Inversiones en Agricultura Sostenible |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-standards-investments-sustainable-agriculture-es.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{larrea2023normas, author = {Larrea, Cristina}, title = {{Normas Voluntarias de Sostenibilidad e Inversiones en Agricultura Sostenible}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-standards-investments-sustainable-agriculture-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }