Grants for Sustainable Agriculture
Learn more about grants for sustainable agriculture by exploring Inside Philanthropy’s list of top sustainable agriculture funders below. Subscribers can also explore funders using our Grantfinder Search Tool. Become a member.
Key Funders
- 11th Hour Project
- Agua Fund
- Bezos Earth Fund
- Clif Family Foundation
- ClimateWorks Foundation
- Howard G. Buffett Foundation
- Gates Foundation
- Global Greengrants Fund
- McKnight Foundation
- Mars Wrigley Foundation
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Panta Rhea Foundation
- Rockefeller Foundation
- The Schmidt Family Foundation
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders
- Walton Family Foundation
Funding trends for sustainable agriculture grants
In the latter half of the 20th century, philanthropy invested heavily in agricultural solutions to end world hunger. The Green Revolution, backed by major philanthropies such as the Rockefeller, Ford, and Gates foundations, was inspired by the idea that industrial agriculture would both reduce hunger and improve the lives and livelihoods of farmers. Unfortunately, it has become clear that large-scale agriculture did not solve hunger, and has harmed small-scale farmers as well as the planet. Agriculture is responsible for about 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Worldwide, “Growing, processing and transporting food accounts for one-third of all global greenhouse gas emissions,” reports the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, a donor collaborative.
The Global Alliance — whose members include major philanthropies such as the Rockefeller, W. K. Kellogg, Walton Family, and Packard foundations — reflects a surge in philanthropic interest in sustainable agriculture, which lies at the intersection of food systems, the environment, and human rights.
While it still accounts for a relatively small share of all philanthropy, the sustainable agriculture grantmaking space has seen a lot of growth and diversification in recent years. The affinity group Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) has more than 100 members, including private foundations, community foundations, individual investors, and corporate philanthropies. There is a high level of collaboration among donors in this space, as evidenced by SAFSF, the Global Alliance, the Agroecology Fund, Funders for Regenerative Agriculture, Transformational Investing in Food Systems, and other funder groups.
As IP has reported, citing interviews with experts at SAFSF, funders in this space are showing a “greater awareness of and desire to engage with underserved communities, community- and BIPOC-led organizations,” as well as addressing systemic racism in food supply-chain issues, land access, and agriculture practices. More funding — from green regrantors, among others — has also flowed to creating access to Indigenous land and supporting Indigenous farming practices.
Another fast-growing area of agriculture philanthropy is regenerative agriculture, a holistic approach that considers how food systems impact everything from water to climate change. The donor collaborative Funders for Regenerative Agriculture (FORA), which first met in 2019, had more than 60 members by 2024.
As the impacts of climate change multiply, experts from SAFSF cite a deep need for “more systemic solutions and approaches to climate mitigation through agriculture.”
Where are sustainable agriculture grants going?
Grants for sustainable agriculture overlap with grantmaking areas including food security and nutrition, climate change, environmental conservation, racial justice and Indigenous rights.
Grants for sustainable agriculture fund many different types of projects, both locally and globally. Some grants focus on environmental conservation, such as grants for research into agricultural practices that do not degrade soil. Some funders make grants to support Indigenous land rights and traditional agriculture in Indigenous communities. Grants are also made for policy advocacy, such as to address the over-subsidization of the largest and wealthiest farming operations in the U.S., or to groups that advocate for plant-based eating.
Gaps in sustainable agriculture funding
Although sustainable agriculture is a fast-growing grantmaking area, it still accounts for only a small share of climate philanthropy. “Despite the potential for climate mitigation and adaptation, food systems are consistently underestimated and underfunded,” according to the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. That speaks to grantmaking as well as impact investing. Globally, only 3% of climate finance is going to food systems transformation, the Global Alliance’s Anna Lappé told IP. Especially given the scale of the problem, much more funding, impact investing, and philanthropic collaboration is needed at the intersection of food and the environment.
Published on
