The Investible Agriculture Space

Bringing the different pieces of the agricultural puzzle together would yield a list that would invariably include the following: Growing world population Lower expected production growth for most crops Limited availability of (additional) arable land Improved infrastructure to unlock new arable land where possible Increased affluence and changing dietary habits Need for additional (bio)technologies and fertilizers to improve crop yields Water scarcity Unknown impact of climate change Need for newer business models and supply chains Impact of agriculture on climate change Enhanced sustainability of the agricultural sector Impact of biofuel production Closing the emerging production gap between demand and supply for agricultural output, two potential solutions can be framed: (1) raise productivity (closing the yield gap) and (2) bring additional land into production. The major industry trends expected to drive agricultural productivity growth over the coming decades include greater irrigation, increased nitrogen fertilizer utilization, and higher yields for crops. While there has been investment in the agricultural sector over the past few decades, mostly in Europe and the United States, it has only had marginal impact on agricultural growth on a global scale.1