Agriculture adaptation

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world is not on track to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. For the past 5 years, the number of people suffering from hunger has been on the rise, with climate change as a key driver. The big challenge is that most of our farming practices were developed for past climate conditions and are less productive as ecosystem boundaries move polarward. Smallholders farmers relying on rain-fed agriculture are the most vulnerable, as rainfall patterns are changing quickly, and droughts are becoming more frequent and severe.

90% of non-Annex 1 countries have included agricultural adaptation in their NDCs and GCF, to date, has invested $1.6 billion to support climate resilient small holder farmers and meet the world’s increasing food demand. The GCF focuses on three transformation pathways:

• Support to resilient agriculture with drought-resistant seeds, solar irrigation and other sustainable practices and technologies;
• support to early warning systems for smallholder farmers, as well as climate information and risk management services such as index insurance; and
• reshaping food supply chains, ensuring crops can reach markets more easily, and reducing food losses and waste.

GCF projects aim to maximize the development co-benefits of climate resilient agriculture, including: reducing GHG emisisons; arresting the degradation of ecosystems and land and water resources; preserving biodiversity; creating millions of new jobs by improving value chains, particularly for women and the youth; improving nutrition and fostering peace and security.

Hence we welcome the cross-cutting approach of IFAD’s enhanced Adaptation for Smallholder Agiculture programme. We look forward to working with IFAD to help develop this vital programme and optimize its transformative impact.