Two insurance companies in Holland have invested in a Kempen Capital Management sustainable farmland fund.
Coöperatie DELA and De Goudse have invested in the Kempen SDG Farmland Fund that was launched six months ago in a collaboration with Stitchting Pensioenfonds PostNL.
Kempen said €150 million was secured during the latest investment round, and €350 million since launch.
The fund invests in farmlands in OECD countries that could deliver good returns but which also contribute towards sustainable food production.
Kempen said it had identified “concrete and measurable” key performance indicators in the field of climate, soil health, biodiversity, water quality, and the use of resources.
Examples of crops that are supported by the fund include avocados, olives, and almonds in Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, and the US; and annual crops such as grains, beans and vegetables in Denmark, the US, and Australia.
Frank Eizinga, chief investment officer of Coöperatie DELA, said: “We are further diversifying our portfolio while at the same time contributing towards the achievement of our sustainability goals. What attracts us the most in the Kempen SDG Farmland Fund is that a sustainability plan is drawn up for each investment, making the sustainable goals concrete as well as creating accountability for the achievement of the goals.”
Pieter de Frel, chief financial risk officer of De Goudse Verzekeringen, added: “As a family business, we attach great value to sustainable business practices. This investment, which is fully grafted onto sustainability and entrepreneurship, will enable us to contribute to a healthy climate and biodiversity. In addition, we consider farmland an attractive diversifier in our portfolio.”
Richard Jacobs and Edzard Potgieser manage the fund. They said as well as returns and the ecological aspects of the fund, they felt the social factor to be very important because the fund means young farmers get new capital to achieve their long-term sustainability goals.
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