By Robyn Joubert
Finances flowing to help agrifood systems adapt to climate change are falling short by US$1 trillion/year, according to a report released at COP29 on 19 November 2024. Attracting less than 5% of global climate finance each year, this makes agrifood systems a poor cousin in the world of climate finance.
National governments need to urgently ramp up their investment commitments for agrifood systems at least six times, according to The Triple Gap in Finance for Agrifood Systems report by the ClimateShot Investor Coalition (CLIC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“The longer we delay deploying capital for agrifood systems, the more the cost of addressing those issues increases, along with greater disruptions to supply chains and food security globally,” said Barbara Buchner, global managing director of Climate Policy Initiative.
Agrifood systems are responsible for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, but they are also highly vulnerable to climate change. Early investments in sustainable agricultural practices offer significant long-term benefits.
“Agrifood systems hold the solutions to major interlinked challenges facing people and the planet: climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and food insecurity. However, the scale of current investments fails to do justice to their potential. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, directing finance for sustainable and resilient agrifood systems and ensuring this finance effectively reaches agricultural communities is the most effective investment in climate action,” said Kaveh Zahedi, FAO director of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment.
Climate finance needs vary by region. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest agrifood finance needs, requiring investment primarily in crops and cropland, forestry, and fisheries and aquaculture. In Europe and Central Asia, climate finance is needed primarily for forestry and crops; while in North America, investments in energy use and industrial processes are the greatest need.
Investments should not only transform the agrifood system to a low carbon, climate-resilient pathway, but should also prioritise support for vulnerable communities, particularly smallholder farmers and women.
Nearly half of the global population depends on agrifood systems, with over 1.23 billion people employed in the sector as of 2019, including 78% of the world’s poor.
Download the full report here.
