Recognizing the strategic role of finance in transforming Colombia’s rural sector, the Agricultural Sector Financing Fund - Finagro and the United Nations Development Programme - UNDP, through BIOFIN, have designed a roadmap to green agricultural credit. The aim is to ensure that access to credit not only boosts productivity but also strengthens ecosystem conservation.
This initiative stems from the 2021 BIOFIN analysis of agricultural sector incentives with harmful impacts on biodiversity in Colombia. It is part of broader efforts to support the national government in designing financial solutions that mobilize, redirect, and optimize public and private resources for biodiversity conservation.
This document outlines the progress Colombia has made in identifying and reforming harmful financial incentives, with the goal of aligning rural and financial development policies with the country's international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity - CBD. It also presents the first incentive reform roadmap for Colombia, which Finagro and UNDP–BIOFIN are implementing to align agricultural credit with sustainable production models. The methodology integrates an ecosystem-based approach with technical, financial, and social criteria.
The process has brought together experts from the financial, agricultural, and environmental sectors to initially focus on six key value chains: cattle, rice, cocoa, coffee, cassava, and non-timber forest products. These were selected based on their territorial relevance, level of organization, and credit demand.
