AGRA

AGRA convened key partners and stakeholders at COP27 in a dinner session to explore the tangible ways of mobilizing investments and interventions that target smallholder communities.

COP27 was a critical event to recognize and ensure that the mechanisms are put in place to not only raise $100bn per year of climate actions but also unleash the opportunity for large scale financing of climate resilience as part of the global recovery package. 

Presently, only 1.5% of global climate finance is currently channelled to small-scale agriculture of which 95% is sourced from public sources, and of the annual $30 billion spent on adaptation in Africa in 2019/20, just 3% came from the private sector. The intent to reform the mechanisms for climate funding and the establishment of a fund for loss and damage to support the most vulnerable communities in developing countries is, therefore, a step in the right direction. 

Participants at the session remarked that several commitments by AGRA partners and governments have increased funding towards adaptive food systems.  However, it was noted that the pipeline of scalable programs and investments driving transformation at the farm level is not sufficient and that public and private actors fall short in prioritizing African Food systems as a core driver of resilience. Speakers called for continued multi-stakeholder collaboration, more effort for innovative design and the need for prioritization of climate action through food systems.