Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

International Institute for Environment and Development

Forest landscapes are inhabited by approximately 1.5 billion people. The aggregate gross annual value of these smallholder producers approaches US$1.3 trillion. Adding value to that production, through financial investment, will be key to delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, access to finance is an important issue. The Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) commissioned this scoping paper to assess what might be done to improve access to finance. Organisation of forest and farm producers allows finance to be channelled toward valueadded investments. But the motivation to form forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) varies with context, from the desire to secure resource rights for Indigenous peoples in the forest core, to the desire to strengthen economic scale efficiencies in periurban forest product processing industries. The scale and type of finance needs vary and span enabling investments (grants or concessional loans)through to asset investments (market-rate capital that requires a return). Access to finance for FFPOs requires tailored approaches. For FFPOs, enabling investments in four key areas are needed to create the conditions and necessary track record to attract asset investment: (i) secure commercial rights; (ii) strong organisation for scale; (iii) appropriate technical extension; and (iv) fair market access and business incubation. Enabling investments of this sort make FFPO businesses bankable and affords them access to finance.

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