Beyond Box Checking: Unlocking Strategic Investment Opportunities in Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture practices present a transformative opportunity to reimagine investment in the agriculture sector. While often treated as a box-checking exercise under ESG or impact allocations, these solutions are increasingly being viewed as a strategic asset class for portfolio resilience, offering both downside protection and growth potential.

At Climate Week NYC 2025, Builders Vision hosted a panel of investors to explore these opportunities and the role different types of capital can play in shaping the future of the sector.

Led by Sara Balawajder, Director, Investments at Builders Vision, the panel featured Alex Corbacho, Partner at Paine Schwartz Partners; Ariel Hayward, Nature-Based Solutions Lead, Carbon Removal at Microsoft; Eduardo Mufarej, Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Just Climate; Emma Fuller, Co-Founder of Fractal Agriculture; and Sarah Nolet, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Tenacious Ventures Group.

The group's discussion immediately honed in on our food and agriculture system's most urgent need—patient, early investment—with a clear consensus that now is the time to actively "lean in.”

“Rather than waiting on the sidelines and seeing when there might be more certainty in the market, we are actively deploying into the space, finding great opportunities, both financially and from a climate perspective, and really leaning in heavily,” said Sara Balawajder, Director, Investments at Builders Vision

The panelists spanned the investment value chain, each with distinct approaches to the regenerative agriculture space, from deploying venture capital into early-stage agtech to channeling institutional capital into food platforms to financing farmland transitions. For example, Sarah discussed her focus on funding breakthrough innovations that need capital to reach market viability, while Alex and Eduardo highlighted how they deploy capital to scale proven solutions. Despite these different strategies, they all agreed: investing in regenerative agriculture is a timely and strategic opportunity to drive returns, mitigate risk, diversify portfolios and build long-term resilience.

“We're matching the timescales of biology to the timescales of the financial return, and all of a sudden, you unlock the value, not only for the investor, but also the farmer. It just is a virtuous cycle where you end up getting above-market returns, just by addressing the need,” said Emma Fuller.

The panelists highlighted a key principle in regenerative agriculture – its implementation takes time and patience, a challenge they view as an opportunity. Investors who commit flexible, long-term capital can unlock value across the supply chain, boost farmer success, improve land health and productivity and generate returns.

“If we don't figure out how to give farmers and the value chain tools they need to be more resilient and more sustainable, we're missing out on both an economic opportunity, as well as an opportunity to solve climate change,” said Sarah Nolet.

Farmers are the backbone of our food systems, and to continue being the best stewards of the land, they need resources and support. Collaborating closely with farmers to develop and scale solutions that enhance resilience and sustainability, while still meeting their day-to-day needs, is how we create both economic and environmental opportunities.

Overall, the panelists made it clear: patient investment in farmers and regenerative practices can generate returns while strengthening the resilience, productivity and sustainability of our food system.