Canada’s second-largest pension fund Caisse de d?p?t et placement du Qu?bec (CDPQ) has partnered with Australian government-owned green bank Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to launch a A$200 million ($136 million) sustainable agriculture fund.
The platform will acquire assets managed by Gunn Agri Partners, an Australian farmland manager, over the next three years. As part of this venture, both CDPQ and CEFC will become minority shareholders in Gunn Agri Partners, which will manage the platform.
Gunn Agri Partners manages more than $750 million in assets and commitments and is the manager of the agriculture fund Transforming Farming.
The first asset that the platform is acquiring is Wilga Farming, a farm dedicated to row crops located in New South Wales.
The 1,200-hectare farm will grow a range of summer and winter crops, including cereals, oilseeds, pulses, and dryland cotton, owing to favourable weather conditions.
Launched in 2020 as part of its Infrastructure portfolio, CDPQ’s Sustainable Land Management initiative aims to allocate investments toward land-centric assets that provide enduring environmental benefits and uphold the strictest ESG criteria.
This approach aligns well with CEFC’s sustainability ambitions.
“By facilitating the flow of much-needed capital into the sector, our work with CDPQ supports the decarbonisation efforts of farmers while boosting production and enabling them to remain competitive globally,” CEFC head of natural capital, Heechung Sung, said.
Emmanuel Jaclot, executive vice-president and head of Infrastructure at CDPQ, reaffirmed the pension manager’s commitment to sustainable land management, aiming to invest alongside organisations like the CEFC that advance sustainability within the agricultural sector.
As of December 31, 2022, CDPQ’s net assets totalled C$402 billion.
