Written by: Franz Gomez-Soto, Senior Vice President at Fundación Capital.
In a world dominated by monoculture and short-term urgency, the Biofincas Project proposes a radical shift: to demonstrate with evidence that protecting biodiversity is not only vital for the planet, but also profitable for finances and the future of humanity itself.
In less than a hundred years, all farms will be organic farms. Those that are not will simply not be able to sell their products on the market: they will have become extinct by choice or by necessity. Awareness of a healthy planet will no longer be in question, nor will it make headlines in the newspapers; we will all have become aware of the need for our actions to be aligned with the protection of the environment.
However, today the Biofincas project is presented as a pioneer: a small ship in the ocean with a clear objective, although still searching for a port to dock in.
Although it may seem that the Project is alone and that its message is not being heard, more and more of us are beginning to walk a path that is not easy but is inevitable: moving away from monoculture, which destroys biodiversity, toward its very origin, the diverse life that sustains everything. Resistance to change, inertia, and short-term economic incentives, which are short-sighted and only see blurred images, paint a picture that condemns us to maximum extraction in the short term, continuous soil degradation, and “bread for today, hunger for tomorrow.” In the long term, the only certainty is that, without profound change, we will all be dead. Keynes has never been more right than he is now.
The Biofincas Project has the difficult task of breaking the inertia. It seems impossible, but it isn't because we have an unbeatable ally: nature. Without it, there will be no life and, let's be sure, there will be no business either. It will not be easy to stop a runaway train (the loss of biodiversity in exchange for immediate profits) and even get it to reverse course. Our planet will not tolerate further destruction and loss of biodiversity; otherwise, we will be facing an attempt at collective suicide. A change in consciousness and a new way of working the land will come. The question is, how do we accelerate this process?
Biofincas is committed to effective advocacy at different levels: governments, companies, buyers, marketers, producers, and many others involved in agricultural value chains. It will do so by building a compelling narrative that combines ecological and economic rationality. Scientific and empirical evidence must support something we all know: a biodiverse world is better for the whole world. And also, if you just have a little patience, for business.
Effective advocacy is built on solid arguments, verifiable data, and the ability to spread the word. Biofincas, following this logic, aims to demonstrate that, in the medium and long term, biodiversity pays off, while anything that destroys it will leave us with an unpaid bill.
Changing the planning horizon of entrepreneurs and producers requires knowledge, financing, technology, partnerships, but above all political will and ethics. Where there is no will to change, it is better not to get involved. Not all of us are willing or have the capacity or means to take risks, and those who lag behind will inevitably be left out of the future.
In this regard, Biofincas must also identify those who do wish to embark on the path of transformation, moving from intention to action. The planet is crying out for change, even though many major financial and business players have decided to ignore the signs and cover their ears. Change will be inevitable, even if it suits some to ignore it for now.
The narrative of transformation will not emerge from a single major breakthrough, but from successive improvements that consolidate over time. Creative destruction has always been—and will continue to be—a process.
Having identified Biofincas' allies, the task will be to agree on the evidence we will build together to stimulate transformation on a planetary scale. We need the best living laboratories where we can experiment so that, under optimal conditions, we can take risks and move forward with change, learning collectively. At first, we should not be surprised that the changes will be difficult and will bring associated costs. In these circumstances, it would be unfair for small producers to bear this burden alone. We need government support, international cooperation, and the participation of entrepreneurs who intuit or know that their future is also at stake.
Biofincas will have to prioritize certain pilot projects, specifically those where there is greater willingness to change and a higher chance of success. Not all of us are ready to take the leap, and choosing the best allies will be crucial to building transformative evidence. This is a journey of no return for humanity: not everyone can board the first ship, but sooner or later it will be everyone's turn.
Biofincas also has a unique role: to provide support so that pilot projects are carried out under the best conditions and do not fail. Each failure would mean delaying change. The selected pilots must make a direct contribution to increasing biodiversity, breaking with monoculture and gradually introducing other plant species that will soon bring animal life and restore the vital resource for agriculture: water.
Biofincas' role in this existential challenge is clear: to lead advocacy efforts at different levels with committed allies, based on documented empirical evidence of the benefits of biodiversity for agriculture, for the planet, for people, and also for their finances. The evidence will be built with people from the project itself, who will support it with their knowledge and the creation of strategic alliances to ensure that these pilot projects reach a safe harbor.
Communicating and disseminating biological and economic results will be key to driving this crusade: from monoculture to biodiverse farming. Change is unstoppable, but we must accelerate it. The planet responds to natural forces that cannot wait.
In a hundred years, there will be no loneliness... or perhaps absolute loneliness. We are making that decision today.
This article was written by Fundación Capital, an entity that forms part of the consortium implementing the BioFinCas project.
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