Conclusions
Investments in climate-smart agriculture can deliver high economic returns by increasing agricultural productivity and rural incomes, improving food security, building the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities and reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions.
Most financing for agricultural development comes from domestic public and private sources. Even though only a small proportion of these investments come from international public finance, if leveraged correctly, they can catalyze greater public funding from agriculture budgets and private investments for climate-smart agriculture. For many countries, learning how to access and effectively use international financing can play a critical role in making the long-term transition towards climate-smart agriculture.
A systematic integration of climate-smart agriculture considerations into agricultural strategies and plans, and mainstreaming climate-smart agriculture into the design, appraisal, and implementation monitoring and evaluation of rural development programmes and projects is required to ensure the effective use of available financing. The practical tools and approaches presented in this module are available for mainstreaming climate-smart agriculture into each stage of the agricultural investment decision-making process. Carrying out more studies and analyses, learning from experience and sharing knowledge on integrating climate-smart agriculture approaches into broader agricultural investment strategies are needed to maximize the economic efficiency of investments and scale up climate-smart agriculture.