Publications
This report shows the potential of environmental payments to reward farmers for their use of carbon-friendly, agroforestry practices. It is the result of three years of collaboration with our partners the CAC Pangoa, CENFROCAFE, Cool Farm Alliance, Cooperative Coffees, COMSA, Manos Campesinas, Norandino, Sol y Café, Sustainable Food Lab, and The Chain Collaborative, with generous funding from the EcoMicro program of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Our biennial report covers two years of progress, highlighting our impact pathways, two client stories, financials from the years, and more.
This case study showcases how three CSAF members turned their gender intentions into action, each focusing on the entry point and gender lens investing (GLI) actions most aligned with their business and impact priorities. It was created in partnership with Root Capital, Value for Women, and CSAF.
Climate change is an existential crisis for smallholder farmers across the world. But with the right support, these rural communities can be powerful champions of climate action. In 2020, Root Capital launched our Climate Resilience Roadmap, a six-year strategy to support urgent climate action in rural communities by building the resilience of agricultural enterprises serving smallholder farmers. Halfway through our strategy, we have made significant progress against our goals and generated valuable insights about how best to support small and growing agricultural enterprises to ramp up climate action.
The business case for women’s leadership is clear. But little data exists on small and growing enterprises, especially in emerging economies. Even less data is available on the agricultural industry—a sector that 2.5 billion people globally depend on for their livelihoods, and one in which women receive only 7% of total investment. Through an analysis of 10 years of Root Capital’s global data, Inclusion Pays: The Returns on Investing in Women in Agriculture sheds new light on the benefits—to women, businesses, and investors—of investing in women in agriculture.
Over the past 10 years, Root Capital's Women in Agriculture Initiative has helped expand gender equity in hundreds of rural communities around the world. In 2021, we reached new heights alongside women farmers, agricultural employees, and entrepreneurs.
Over two years, the Social Impact Incentives (SIINC) project used impact-linked financing to extend $12M in credit to previously underbanked agricultural enterprises across Latin America. Learn more about the project's success and the implications this has for future impact-linked financing projects.
This report analyzes the impact of Root Capital lending and advisory services on a sorghum aggregator in Ghana and the impact of that enterprise on its suppliers and local community. Read on for exciting findings about Root Capital's engagement with the business.
In 2018, Root Capital launched a pilot program of a Farmer Financial Literacy training with sorghum farmers in Ghana and conducted a randomized control trial to evaluate its impacts. We present this report on the programs' findings and lessons learned for future interventions.
