NOW Partners Foundation’s CEO Walter Link and Managing Partners Laura Santucci and Renske van Grinsven joined the the True Cost Accounting Summit in Rome to highlight “Financing the Transition to Agroecology: Innovative investment and grant solutions that accelerate the scaling of regenerative solutions in agriculture and agroforestry” alongside a senior group of global leaders and experts in True Cost Accounting.

Drawing on NOW’s 40 years of experience in developing and scaling impactful solutions, Link highlighted the global vision of their Natural Farming Global (NFG) initiative, which was founded to respond to the needs of over 50 countries to adapt and scale the proven and economically-successful agroecology initiative, Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming (APCNF). www.naturalfarming.global

Link also emphasized the importance of fair compensation for crucial ecosystem services and a shift in perspective from solely focusing on ‘true costs’ to recognizing ‘true value creation’ in regenerative practices, exemplified by initiatives like the Economy of Love (EoL) standard, owned by the Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA). The EBDA is partnering with NOW to scale the Economy of Love globally. (Economy of Love Global www.eol.global) 

Link outlined a collaborative vision, referencing engagement with organizations like the FAO, to create an accelerator for mainstreaming regenerative agriculture by 2030. He stressed the need to move beyond simply accounting for costs to fully valuing the benefits of these approaches, making them the default for decision-making.

Renske van Grinsven commented, “We need to move away from the cheap food paradigm as producing food at a low price comes at a very high cost. At the TCA Summit NOW worked with key partners on an action agenda to scale impact and accelerate this highly needed shift.”