Cross-border farmland investment: Systemic analysis of global food security, ESG governance, and resilience mechanisms for development financing.

Cross-border farmland investment (OFI) has evolved from a mere resource acquisition tool into a core component of global food security strategy and cross-border value chain integration. Against the backdrop of a warming global climate, geopolitical conflicts, and volatile international agricultural markets, the vulnerability of relying on single-region food import models is increasingly apparent, making cross-border agricultural cooperation one of the important paths for countries seeking supply chain resilience.

However, viewing cross-border farmland investment as a simple resource allocation is one-sided. The sustainability of the system does not solely depend on the physical acquisition of land but rather on a complex ecosystem composed of multi-level institutions, organizational capabilities, and supply chain coordination. This study places cross-border agricultural investment within a systems analysis framework, focusing on the governance logic behind its long-term sustainability.

First, the synergy between institutional governance and the external environment is key. When cross-border investors operate in different countries, they must effectively deal with complex legal, market, and cultural differences. Successful cross-border operations depend on the cooperative relationships built between investors, host governments, and local producers. Research indicates that the adaptability of host country institutions, the degree of policy support for investment, and the depth of local producer participation collectively determine the operational arrangements and final output quality of the investment. This requires investors to possess high institutional adaptability, transforming resource acquisition into stable operational capabilities.

Second, organizational capability and supply chain resilience are the core drivers of long-term sustainability. In cross-border operations, connecting all links from planting, procurement, processing to the final market is a challenge in achieving value chain integration. Through contract farming, technological cooperation, and deep integration of logistics and storage, enterprises can transform external resources into reliable, market-competitive products. This capability reconstruction—the enterprise's ability to absorb risks from external changes and flexibly adjust operating models—is the fundamental guarantee of continuity for businesses amidst volatile external environments.

Furthermore, local participation and risk-sharing mechanisms are governance elements that balance cross-border interests with local social impact. Including local producers in the operational system is not only fulfilling social responsibility but also an effective means of building risk-sharing mechanisms. Establishing this cooperative model can effectively alleviate land rights conflicts and ecological pressures while ensuring a positive interaction between agricultural production and the local social structure. In the context of ESG investment, this inclusive governance structure is a necessary prerequisite for assessing the long-term social and environmental performance of investments.

From the perspective of development finance, the sustainability of cross-border farmland investment is not just about the success of a single transaction but about how to ensure the stability of resource acquisition and the realization of value through the continuous iteration of institutional and organizational capabilities. This suggests that the development finance system needs to shift from traditional project financing thinking to a more systemic and long-term perspective, incorporating institutional capacity building and supply chain reshaping into the scope of financing assessments.

Looking ahead, with the disruption of agricultural production models due to climate change and the continuous restructuring of global value chains, cross-border agricultural cooperation will place greater emphasis on low-carbon transition and climate adaptation.Looking ahead, with climate change disrupting agricultural production models and the ongoing restructuring of global value chains, cross-border agricultural cooperation will place greater emphasis on low-carbon transition and climate resilience. Future successful cross-border agricultural investments will no longer solely pursue maximum yield, but rather focus on how to incorporate climate risk into operational resilience design and build an agricultural governance system with deep institutional adaptability that can cope with rapidly changing environments and policies. This requires the focus of international cooperation to shift from "resource import" to "capacity empowerment" and "systemic resilience building."