German pension fund Hamburger Pensionskasse (HPK) has taken part in a €65m fundraising by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

HPK has anchored IFAD’s first euro-denominated bond issuance programme, which has also received capital from three other unnamed German pension funds.

Last year, IFAD issued two bonds for a total of $150m (€137m). The investment from the latest issuance, a 12-year bond, will also support small farmers in rural areas in developing countries facing the consequences of climate change, their production and access to value chains and markets, according to IFAD,

Thomas Schmidt, the head of portfolio management at the Hamburger Pensionsverwaltung, the manager of several pension schemes including HPK, said: “After years of low and negative interest rates, we are now actively using the current interest rate environment to strengthen our fixed income investments.

“The mission of the IFAD matches with the interests of our almost one million members.”

Melanie Jura, a member of the board of HPK, said: ”We now have sufficient capital to implement investments such as the one in cooperation with IFAD, even in the currently challenging market environment.”

Natalia Toschi, the head of funding at IFAD, said: “With this 12-year bond, IFAD adds another point to its issuer curve, and hopes to continue to populate the curve in the near future. Our ultimate goal is to increase financing for vulnerable rural populations at a time when they face economic and climate hardships.”

IFAD is an international financial institution and United Nations agency. Since 1978, IFAD has provided $23.2bn in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached an estimated 518m people.

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