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The document examines the 'Commodity Trap' facing the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) industry, where attempts to displace low-cost bulk protein and synthetic fertilisers have struggled due to prohibitive price gaps and scaling hurdles. It recommends that producers shift toward high-value functional additives and bioactive soil amendments, leveraging partnerships with established suppliers to overcome farmer skepticism and regulatory barriers in South Africa.

The 2026 Market Intelligence Report for the Western Cape's sustainable agriculture sector highlights a transition toward resource-efficient, technologically enabled production. It identifies biological crop protection and biostimulants as key regenerative agriculture opportunities, with a total addressable market of R79.3530.3 million and R27.3176.6 million respectively. Additionally, it identifies farm management systems as a critical smart farming opportunity to ensure export compliance and operational efficiency, with a total addressable market of R108135 million per year. The sector faces significant trade pressures, including the expiry of AGOA in September 2025 and evolving EU sustainability regulations under the European Green Deal, prompting a strategic pivot toward market diversification in Asia, particularly China, following a landmark stone fruit trade protocol signed in October 2025.

The report finds that nature-related financial disclosures among large South African companies are in their infancy, with most firms relying on existing climate governance structures that do not yet substantively address biodiversity. While there is high awareness of the TNFD framework, formal adoption is very low, with only four companies having adopted it by the end of 2025. The analysis highlights significant gaps in board-level accountability, a lack of specific biodiversity metrics, and limited engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The report recommends that companies leverage their more mature climate reporting systems to fast-track the adoption of TNFD recommendations and integrate nature-based solutions into their value chains.

The Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard reveals that while some grocery retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts are leading in organic sales and pollinator protections, many others are failing to communicate progress or manage pesticide risks. The report emphasizes the need for retailers to expand U.S. organic farming, eliminate nitroguanidine neonicotinoids, and adopt integrated pest management to mitigate significant financial and biodiversity risks.

Marfrig, the world's second-largest beef producer, has committed to becoming the first major beef company to disclose third-party supplier (Scope 3) methane emissions and aims for a 33% reduction by 2035. This target represents an annual reduction of 196,920 tons of methane. The announcement was made during a Mighty Earth event at the Belém climate summit (COP30). Marfrig intends to achieve these reductions through feed additives and farming practices. Mighty Earth is using this as a catalyst to call for similar transparency and targets from other meat industry leaders, such as JBS, and is advocating for an increase in plant-based protein sales to complement regenerative agriculture.

The author contends that the EU's CRCF framework relies on unscientific methodologies and lacks social safeguards, potentially fueling 'green-grabbing' and land inequality. The document further criticizes the proposed next phase of the CAP for lacking a ringfenced budget for environmental action and granting member states too much autonomy, which may lead to a 'race to the bottom' regarding environmental safeguards. It concludes that carbon and nature credits are unsuitable tools for ensuring a fair standard of living for farmers.

The report analyzes the convergence of nature-based solutions (NbS) and adaptation and resilience (A&R) finance, highlighting a critical funding gap where annual global nature finance flows of USD 200 billion are only one-third of the amount needed by 2030. Through five case studies—including the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund and Wildfire Resilience Insurance—the document identifies key barriers such as the complexity of measuring outcomes in changing climates, the lack of standardized metrics, and the high upfront costs of resilience interventions. It argues that while carbon credits and regulatory standards like the EU Deforestation Regulation provide pathways, scaling requires a shift from reactive to preventive investment mindsets and the development of credible, localized impact metrics. The report concludes that reforming the development finance architecture and leveraging global frameworks like COP30 are essential to mainstreaming nature-based adaptation.

The Agri-Smallholder Resilience Fund (ASRF) is a USD 22.5 million blended finance vehicle designed to address a USD 7 billion agricultural credit gap in the Philippines. Managed by the agri-tech platform Mayani, the fund utilizes a three-tier capital structure—comprising senior debt (50%), junior debt (30%), and catalytic first-loss capital (20%)—to provide loans to agri-aqua cooperatives. The ASRF employs a 'whole-of-value-chain' de-risking strategy that bundles working capital with parametric insurance, corporate offtake agreements, climate-smart inputs, and cold storage infrastructure. A USD 1 million pilot targeting 2,800 farmers in the Cordillera Mountain region will precede a full rollout aiming to reach 8,800 smallholders over five years. The fund targets a debtholder internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 9% and projects annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of 4,400 to 10,600 tonnes of CO2e for the pilot phase.

The Tropical Resilience Fund (TREF) is a USD 100 million closed-ended mezzanine debt fund designed to bridge the 'missing middle' financing gap for nature-based ventures in the tropical belt. Managed by Impact Earth, the fund employs a blended finance structure—combining a junior first-loss tranche with senior commercial capital—to invest in nature projects, productive systems, and market catalysts. TREF focuses on enhancing climate resilience across high-value commodities such as coffee, cacao, and rice, primarily in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The fund targets a net internal rate of return (IRR) of 10% and utilizes a three-stage resilience approach involving risk mapping, resilient operating plans, and post-investment verification.

The Next California project, now operating through the Delta Ag Alliance, seeks to increase specialty crop acreage in the Mid-Mississippi Delta from 0.19% to 3% by 2034. This transition is designed to unlock $3.2 billion in annual farmgate revenue and protect US food security as climate change forces production shifts away from California. The project employs a four-pillar strategy: farmer-led discovery, innovative funding structures (including operating loans and infrastructure funds), support for farmer-entrepreneurs, and public sector research alignment. Early pilots like Delta Harvest have demonstrated the economic viability of specialty rice, while other ventures like Peebles Organics and Delta Dirt Distillery showcase the potential for organic produce and value-added processing. To scale these efforts, the alliance is focusing on bridging the 'chasm' between early innovators and the early majority through targeted capital and the development of regional processing infrastructure.

The document outlines a strategic framework to transition the global financial system toward deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) models. It details specific mandates for policymakers to reform fiscal policies and subsidies, for central banks to embed nature-related risks into prudential supervision, and for financial institutions to scale capital toward sustainable land use and regenerative agriculture. The report emphasizes that aligning financial flows is essential to meet climate and biodiversity targets, citing the loss of 6.7 million hectares of tropical primary forests in 2024 as a critical risk to economic stability.

The report advocates for the transition of California's agricultural landscapes from resource-intensive practices to nature-based solutions (NbS). It details specific strategies such as multibenefit managed aquifer recharge, floodplain restoration, and agrivoltaics to tackle groundwater depletion, flooding, and energy insecurity. Through case studies in Okieville, Dos Rios, Fairmead, and Allensworth, the document demonstrates how these interventions can simultaneously improve water security, restore biodiversity, and provide economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities. It further provides implementation guidance on community engagement, permitting, and funding sources to support the state's climate and water goals.

Friends of the Earth is campaigning for U.S. grocery and garden retailers to phase out pollinator-toxic pesticides and increase organic sales to 15%. The organization benchmarks 25 large retailers and reports that independent stores are currently leading in organic offerings, while warning that pesticide-driven pollinator loss poses significant financial and ecological risks to the food retail sector.

The document outlines the agricultural stresses caused by climate change, specifically focusing on the US-Mexico border region where drought, groundwater depletion, and extreme heat are threatening farming viability and worker health. It highlights the link between agricultural collapse and migration in Central America and suggests reporting angles on water cuts, pest increases, and adaptation strategies.

The Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2025 finds that major agrifood companies often rely on undefined land-based carbon dioxide removals (CDR) to meet emission targets, which obscures a lack of structural action on key transitions. While most companies commit to halting deforestation, they generally lack strong commitments to shifting toward plant-based proteins or reducing synthetic fertilizer use. The report highlights significant integrity gaps, particularly for JBS, and calls for standard setters like the SBTi and GHG Protocol to require separate targets for emission reductions and removals.

The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA) outlines a framework for companies to transition from virgin fossil-based plastics to responsibly sourced biobased alternatives. The guidance emphasizes that biobased content targets should be measurable, time-bound, and integrated into existing corporate sustainability goals, such as those related to climate, nature, and social performance. It provides a five-step recommended approach: understanding materiality, identifying desired outcomes, aligning with existing goals, developing targets based on portfolio analysis, and evaluating progress. The document also highlights the importance of responsible sourcing, the role of external certifications, and the impact of emerging regulatory frameworks like the Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's Land Sector and Removals Guidance.

The document provides the technical framework for tracking climate finance in agrifood systems, introducing an expanded taxonomy and a keyword tagging system to capture investments in non-traditional sectors. It distinguishes between 'comparable' and 'adjusted' flows to separate actual investment growth from improvements in data collection. Key data sources include the Global Landscape of Climate Finance (GLCF) and specific agrifood datasets, with a notable increase in finance attributed to energy systems supporting agrifood between 2019/20 and 2021/22.

The document argues for a "just land transition" in California to address groundwater depletion, which may require repurposing up to 1 million acres of irrigated agriculture. It outlines a framework based on community-centered principles and provides a roadmap of interventions for the state legislature, regulatory agencies, local governments, and philanthropy to ensure benefits reach frontline communities and agricultural workers.

The document highlights the effectiveness of community-based organisations (CBOs) in implementing sustainable agricultural practices through local trust and social proofing. It uses the example of Itanya Africa Group's vertical garden project to show how leveraging community influencers can overcome resistance to new methods. However, it notes that CBOs face a significant funding gap as major institutions often prefer larger NGOs, which limits the scale and speed of local interventions. The text calls for prioritising financial support for CBOs to scale models for food security and regenerative agriculture.

The report analyzes the first 149 companies to adopt SBTi FLAG targets, finding that while uptake is rapid—particularly in Europe and the food and beverage sector—mitigation plans are uneven. Most companies focus on agricultural emissions reduction and food waste, but few engage in forest management or biochar. The report highlights the role of FLAG targets in accelerating no-deforestation commitments and identifies the need for more robust transition plans as target deadlines approach.