FAO Exhibit – Climate finance: delivering climate solutions through agrifood systems

Sustainable agrifood systems could help to address about 1/3 of current greenhouse gas emissions. When managed and incentivized for sustainability, the production and consumption of key commodities — such as livestock, aquaculture, cocoa, soy, palm oil, rice, wheat, and maize — can support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, restoration of ecosystems, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Food Systems Integrated Program (FSIP), co-led by FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), channels USD 282 million to transform global food systems to be more sustainable, regenerative, nature positive, resilient, inclusive and pollution-free. The FSIP targets underlying drivers of unsustainability from farm to table to strengthen value chains, business models, finance, incentives and behavioural change, and policy and regulatory frameworks for sustainable landscape and farm management for people across 32 countries.

Transforming agrifood systems to mitigate and withstand climate pressures will require a 12-fold increase in annual climate finance flows. Many countries need help not just to access finance but to plan for its most effective deployment. FAO supports countries to unlock Green Climate Fund (GCF) readiness resources for projects that lay the foundations for low-emission and climate-resilient development.

Through the FAO-GCF partnership, over 70 countries have accessed USD 93 million in readiness grants. These investments strengthen national adaptation planning and support the development of resilient agrifood systems. 

1/2 of FAO’s readiness portfolio directly supports Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, and fragile and conflict-affected countries, where agricultural communities are the most vulnerable to climate threats.  

90% of countries have identified agrifood systems as priority for climate change adaptation and mitigation in nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The FAO-UNDP Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) programme, led by FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), supports countries in turning the agriculture and land-use goals outlined in their national climate plans into action. SCALA is helping over 20 countries to identify practical implementation pathways to bridge the climate finance gap. In Thailand, a new Climate Change Action Plan is underway with dedicated budgeting for climate interventions in agriculture. In Costa Rica, the programme is boosting investment readiness for multi-million-dollar Global Environment Facility funding and piloting payments for ecosystem services. In Egypt, SCALA facilitates the de-risking of private investment in key sectors like livestock and dairy. And, in Senegal, it is helping to broker a Green Climate Fund-backed credit line through La Banque Agricole, directly funding agroecological practices for smallholder farmers.

SCALA links multiple partners to leverage diversified climate finance and drive the transformation of agrifood systems. 

Inequality plays a significant role in determining women's adaptive capacity to climate change. Women often lack access to the tools and financial services they need. on average, female-headed households lose 8% more of their income due to the heat stress than male-headed households, amounting to USD 37 billion a year.

The FAO Food security and agriculture: accelerating adaptation (SAGA 2) project channels climate funding to women farmers and their communities, empowering them with the resources, skills and tools to adapt to climate change. In Senegal's Kaolack region, in partnership with women's associations, SAGA 2 is supporting a women-led network of market gardens, strenghtening their organizational capacity, improving access to credit, and building skills in agroecology. These farmers now manage a dedicated climate savings fund to invest in their own climate solutions - benefitting over 500 women, building resilience and boosting the local economy.

Funded by Quebec (Canada), SAGA 2 is advancing climate adaptation at both country and community levels in Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, and Senegal.

From the frontlines of the climate crisis, smallholder farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, and forest-dwellers produce 1/3 of the world’s food supply, yet less than 1% of climate finance has reached them in recent years. Rural communities, including women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, are not just providers of food but also stewards of biodiversity and ecosystems. Their barriers to access resources are especially high.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) bridges the finance gap by channeling funds directly to civil society organizations and community-based initiatives. Grants are paired with technical assistance to power local solutions to global environmental issues while improving livelihoods and reducing poverty. 

By empowering local actors with resources, tools, and decision-making power, SGP helps climate finance reach the hands that feed us and supports their resilience and sustainable development. 

Climate change threatens the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, especially in countries with limited resources to adapt. Since 2016, FAO and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have partnered to scale up investment in high-impact projects that make agrifood systems more efficient, sustainable, inclusive, and climate resilient.

The partnership serves over 60 million beneficiaries, with 28 investment projects totalling USD 1.7 billion. These adaptation and mitigation projects promote sustainable land, water and forest management, ecosystem restoration, and climate-resilient agrifood systems. They empower countries to turn climate ambition into action for a food-secure, resilient andlow-emission future.