A recent study commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Green Invest Asia project, in collaboration with the agricultural consulting firm, Agri-Logic, confirmed how climate-smart interventions to improve production of Robusta coffee in Vietnam have contributed to lower carbon emissions in the coffee sector. This 72-page report contain data summary of main findings

This is a 27-page summary of a recent study of sustainability interventions in Jacobs Douwe Egbert’s (JDE)coffee supply chain in Vietnam. The study found that smart-agriculture interventions in recent years with JDE suppliers have helped decrease greenhouse gas emissions from coffee farms.

Financial technology, or fintech, reduces the risk and cost of lending to smallholder farmers and can incentivize them to adopt sustainable agriculture, according to this research commissioned from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which presents challenges and opportunities for fintech to be a tool of climate change mitigation.

This document summarizes recent efforts by Rabo Foundation, in collaboration with USAID Green Invest Asia and South Pole, to assess the foundation’s attributable GHG emissions from investments into agricultural cooperatives and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia.

Commissioned by USAID Green Invest Asia, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) studied business models to explore the potential for scaling up intercropping – growing multiple crops in the same field at the same time – in Asia, and what the private sector and investors can do to realize full economic and environmental benefits. Please click below to download.

This report is a summary of findings of a study commissioned by USAID Green Invest Asia and its partners HeveaConnect, Financial Access and Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) in late 2019 to assess the business case for providing long-term financing to smallholders for replanting rubber trees in Indonesia. The complete version of the study is also available for download (see below).

Replanting high-quality rubber trees and improving planting and tapping practices have potential to increase yields and smallholders’ incomes, as well as maintain existing rubber plantations, jungle rubber plots. However long-term appropriate financing for replanting is rarely available for Indonesian smallholders, leading to an aging tree population and declining rubber yield. The main objective of this study is to gather and analyze financial data of smallholder rubber farms to assess whether it is possible to create a financial mechanism to provide smallholders loans to replant rubber trees and, if so, what the features of the financial product should be. The study is based on desk review, government data, and field data collected in September-October 2019 from 250 smallholders, stakeholders and value chain actors in Jambi, South Sumatra, and West Kalimantan. The study analyzed cash flows of replanting and intercropping models. Using industry and field survey data, the model projects smallholder monthly costs of replanting, maintenance and harvesting, as well as yields, while estimating rubber prices to calculate net incomes for farmers over a rubber tree’s economic lifespan.

Study findings led to a proposal to create a facility combining a financing mechanism to channel blended finance to smallholders through local financial institutions with technical assistance to improve smallholders’ yield and income.

The guidelines have been developed to assist banks to further the integration of sustainability factors into loans for the agriculture and forestry sectors. It is a primer for banks to integrate environmental and social (E&S) issues. It has been designed as a guideline and not as a fully comprehensive prescription to allow for the flexibility needed to be applicable to a wide variety of banks.

These guidelines assist banks to develop sustainability-linked loans for small and medium-sized enterprises in Southeast Asia with flexible terms and low-transaction costs. The goal is for banks to pilot and progressively mainstream such loans into their portfolios. The guidelines are applicable to all sectors, but emphasis is given to land use sectors where sustainability-linked loans have the potential for great positive impact.

While many carbon assessment tools are available, each tool has been developed to serve a specific purpose. There is little consensus on the most suitable tool, including in the agriculture forestry and other land uses (AFOLU) sector. We surveyed the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) measurement marketplace to find the most appropriate tool for AFOLU companies and investors, which they can adopt and manage, and present our findings in the attached full report. Executive summary available below.

While many carbon assessment tools are available, each tool has been developed to serve a specific purpose. There is little consensus on the most suitable tool, including in the agriculture forestry and other land uses (AFOLU) sector. We surveyed the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) measurement marketplace to find the most appropriate tool for AFOLU companies and investors, which they can adopt and manage, and present our findings in the attached summary.

Analysis of women’s participation and opportunities for growth in coffee value chains in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam

Analysis of four key business markets in Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam – to understand how women are driving action and progress on sustainability in the region.