Investing Smarter in Food Systems: Making the Case for Higher Returns

During the side event, policymakers, development partners, researchers, public development banks, and private sector representatives came together to discuss how we can better demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of food systems transformation. The central message was clear: investing in agrifood systems is not a cost, but one of the most important investments societies can make. Well-functioning food systems generate benefits far beyond food security. They contribute to better nutrition, improved health, and social stability too.

Food systems present opportunities

Speakers highlighted that food systems are too often framed only in terms of the challenges they face, such as hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation. While these challenges are real, food systems should also be viewed as opportunities that generate multiple returns across society. 

A key theme of the discussion was the need for a multidimensional approach to return on investment (ROI). Traditional financial metrics cannot capture the full value of investments in food systems. Public and development investments can create economic, social, environmental, and health benefits that extend well beyond direct financial returns. 

High hidden costs

The importance of accounting for the hidden costs of failing food systems was also discussed. These include, for example, the costs of unhealthy diets that burden households and governments, as well as environmental degradation, productivity losses, and social inequalities. 

Funding gaps remain

Despite strong evidence of benefits, significant financing gaps remain. Official development assistance is under pressure and has declined. Private investment is often constrained by perceived risks, limited data, and weak enabling environments. The event highlighted the need for blended finance instruments, guarantees, and risk-sharing mechanisms to mobilize private capital alongside public investment.

As well as evidence gaps 

While substantial research exists on returns from public investment in agrifood systems, the returns generated by private investment and blended finance remain less well documented. Greater transparency in financial reporting, alongside improved data collection and monitoring systems, is therefore essential to better assess returns on investment (ROI) and build stronger, evidence-based investment cases.

The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) launched a report on Financing Agrifood Investment at Scale, opportunities and challenges during the event. Looking ahead, the GDPRD is preparing a forthcoming report on return on investment in agrifood systems, to be launched in December during its annual General Assembly meeting organized in Dublin. The report aims to provide a stronger evidence base to inform governments, development finance institutions, donors, and private investors.

Collective action needed

The event concluded with a call for collective action centred on three key messages:

1. Agrifood systems are an investment rather than a cost
2. Returns on investments must be assessed across multiple dimensions
3. Stronger links between evidence and financial decision-making remain critical

Transforming food systems will require a shared commitment to recognizing the full value these systems generate both in the short and long term.