Modern Farmers Need Modern Finance

Surging worldwide demand for food will require major investment to improve production but traditional approaches to farming finance are falling short, according to a new report from Greensill, the leading provider of working capital finance for companies globally.

The United Nations estimates that demand for food will surge by 70 per cent by the year 2050, requiring better technology and more advanced farming methods.

Farming and Finance, a new report released by Greensill at The Australian’s Global Food Forum in Sydney today, shows how a new approach to working capital finance using technology and capital markets can help farms keep up with the investment needed to meet global demand for food.

Lex Greensill, CBE, Greensill founder and chief executive, said: “Growing up on my family’s sugar cane farm in Bundaberg, Queensland, I saw first hand how working capital pressures can hobble an otherwise successful business. Greensill is dedicated to providing modern finance for modern farming.”

The Australian farming industry is ripe for new, innovative forms of financing that will help it grow to meet global needs. Cattle feedlots, which contributed an estimated A$4.4 billion to the country’s GDP in 2017, are just one sector that stands to benefit.

Matt Costello, Greensill head of Australian operations, said: “Greensill is able to leverage its technology platforms and its partners’ capabilities to recognise the value of the herd as it moves through both backgrounding and feedlot cycles, and dynamically adjust funding levels as the herd value increases. This unlocks value inherent in the growing herd and provides vital working capital to the farmer.”

Read more in the full report.