“About 1.5 billion forest and farm smallholders, local communities and the Indigenous Peoples own or manage about 4.35 billion hectares of forest and farmlands worldwide. And supply one-third, or even more, of the world's food. They are guardians of biodiversity, carbon sinks, and resilient food systems.” 

Mr. Martial Bernoux, FAO - Ms. Pascale Bonzom, IUCN - Mr. Jhony Zapata, FFF/FAO

Mr. Martial Bernoux, Senior Natural Resource Officer in FAO’s Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, emphasized the broader value of investing in agriculture. “When you invest a dollar in agri-food, you are not just investing in agri-food, you're investing in the planet.” 

Ms. Pascale Bonzom, Head of Food and Agricultural Systems at IUCN, an implementing partner of FFF, underlined how FFPOs are leading global climate investment. “USD 360 billion each year is invested by the FFPOs. They do that first of all, to feed their families, to secure their livelihoods, and of course, to restore the ecosystems that they depend on,” she said.  

“These FFPOs are not just beneficiaries, they are solution providers. And we need to really recognize them as such.” 

Despite their impact, FFPOs often struggle to access financial support. Ms. Bonzom pointed out that financial instruments are rarely designed for local actors. “Banks still perceive smallholders as too risky. Available funding tends to be large-scale and bypasses local actors,” she said. “Meanwhile, FFPOs need finance to expand production, to manage their climate risks, and to invest in value addition.” 

This financing gap, participants agreed, is a major barrier to scaling successful initiatives. Yet, the Forest and Farm Facility has shown that small, well-placed investments can deliver tangible results.  

“FFF is really proof that small amounts of well-directed finance coupled with capacity building can unlock transformational impact,” said Ms Bonzom.  

“With over 762,000 people already impacted, and more than half a million hectares restored, the FFF has demonstrated that direct financing to producer organization is one of the most effective ways to deliver climate, nature, and development goals together.” 

Mr. Jhony Zapata of FFF shared the example of MVIWAARUSHA, an FFPO in Tanzania with around 16,000 smallholder members. “They have dealt with aid saving and credit, cooperatives, SACCOS, and 122 microfinance groups. And they have deployed about 200 million Tanzania shillings in loans,” he said. 

On climate resilience, the organization has restored approximately 400 hectares, planted hundreds of thousands of trees, supported household biogas production and water harvesting, and built honey value chains.  

“All this with direct support of about USD 400,000. This shows clearly when funds go directly to producer organizations: the results multiply.”  

The panel discussion, moderated by FAO Forestry Officer Marco Boscolo, brought additional insights on how finance can be better channeled to smallholders. 

Ms. Lany Rebagay, Deputy Secretary General of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development, said that help needs to be strategically directed. “Financing can reach family farmers faster, simpler and better if it's channeled through the aggregated structure of family farmer organizations, because it's their natural home,” she said. “Through a regionally coordinated and nationally implemented collective and complementary action... it is a quick and efficient delivery mechanism, particularly in times of pandemic or disaster.” 

Mr. Juan Carlos Jintiach, Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, emphasized the governance and organization of Indigenous Peoples. “Without us, without territory, we disappear,” he said. “We need to understand how Indigenous People are organized... The answer is us. Work with us.” 

Mr. Duncan MacQueen, Director of Forests at the International Institute for Environment and Development, an implementing partner of FFF, noted that smallholders are key to adaptation. “Smallholder farmer organizations are already spending USD 368 billion per year adapting to climate change,” he said. Much of this, he explained, is channeled through 82,000 credit unions that manage around USD 3.6 trillion globally. “The real potential is to help farmer organizations to evolve their own savings and credit unions,” he said, referencing Brazil’s Cresol, which started in 1995 with just USD 130 among 20 farmers and has since grown to USD 4.6 billion in assets. 

Ms. Weselina Angelow, Program Lead at the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), stressed the need to adapt existing financial tools for climate needs. “We need to find ways to redesign existing products, rather than creating new ones,” she said. “Take an existing credit product, add an element to finance adaptation equipment, or to reduce CO2 impact, or to improve resilience.” 

She cautioned that terminology and communication between financial institutions and farmers must be aligned. “We need to make sure both financial institutions and farmers use and understand the same language,” she said. “And we need to focus on business opportunities, ensuring there is a business case not just for banks, but also for farmers and farm support organizations.”