Japanese Insurer Invests in Sustainable Agriculture Fund

Tokyo headquartered Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company has invested US$50 million in the Nuveen Global Farmland Fund (Fund), a farmland strategy fund managed by Nuveen Natural Capital, the insurer’s first-ever investment in a farmland strategy fund.

The Fund primarily invests in farmland and related businesses, located in the US, Australia, and across other parts of the world. This farmland is used to produce a rich variety of crops, including annual crops such as wheat and corn, as well as perennial crops such as wine grapes and almonds.

Through variance in crop cycles between the northern and southern hemispheres, the Fund realizes diversified and distributed year-round income. Through its investment, the insurer seeks to ensure a stable supply of food, and to help stabilize incomes for farmers.

By establishing solar panels and water circulation systems on farmland, Dai-Ichi also intends to promote sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the preservation of water resources, and expects to contribute to wide-ranging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As a universal owner that manages assets of approx. 38 trillion Japanese Yen sourced from insurance premiums of customers throughout Japan, the insurer has been promoting ESG investments.

Investments in farmland assets can be expected to be highly profitable even during periods of financial market turmoil, thanks to stable sales revenues from agricultural produce and farmland leasing fees.

At the same time, since they have low correlation to traditional assets such as stocks and bonds, farmland assets are a way of diversifying investments and, as such, can help contribute to stable, long-term investment earnings from the Company’s portfolio.

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