We bring an unparalleled convening power and a deep understanding of both public- and private-sector needs.
Challenge
In agricultural transformation, the goal is to prudently use public-sector and philanthropic resources to catalyze the engines of the private sector, causing growth in on-farm production for farmers, input supply channels, markets, transportation, and processing. As transformations progress, there are continually shifting questions about how best to foster private-sector growth in ways that draw large numbers of households out of poverty.
There are several common challenges. First, it is widely recognized that public-driven agricultural transformation struggles with sustainability. Initiatives championed and funded purely by public- and social-sector actors rarely lead to market-led, sustainable solutions to agricultural transformation challenges. Second, it can be difficult to assess risk issues. Private companies are often unwilling to assume the risk of investing in emerging-market agriculture without some level of guarantee or de-risking from the government or multilaterals. Tailoring this de-risking for minimal intervention in time and scope can be critical. Third, the public sector often lacks the capital needed to achieve agricultural transformation goals and the relationships and credibility to attract private capital.
What we do
At the McKinsey Center for Agricultural Transformation, we help governments see through the lens of investors and help investors see the opportunity in partnering with governments to develop value chains and address infrastructure challenges. We also have solutions to help our partners tackle problems of risk by bringing the right stakeholders together, sharing our experience in finding creative ways to de-risk investments, and facilitating an outcome-oriented process to find win–win opportunities. In addition, we tap into deep relationships with companies across the value chain and spanning the globe to find willing investors looking for the next growth horizon and work to structure mechanisms for engaging private capital in agricultural transformation.
