The Climate Finance Gap for Small-Scale Agrifood Systems

Climate finance for small-scale agrifood systems was USD 5.53 billion in 2019/20, representing only 0.8% of total global climate finance and 19% of agrifood-specific flows. This reflects a 44% decline from the 2017/18 period, driven by reduced commitments from governments and development finance institutions. Funding is dominated by public sources (96%) and primarily delivered via grants and concessional debt, with a critical lack of equity investment. Geographically, Sub-Saharan Africa received the largest share (34%), while South Asia and the MENA region remain significantly underserved despite high climate vulnerability. The report argues that current funding is starkly inadequate compared to the estimated annual general financing needs of smallholder farmers (USD 170 billion) and agri-SMEs (USD 106 billion).

• Climate finance for small-scale agrifood systems in 2019/20 was USD 5.53 billion, which is only 0.8% of total tracked climate finance across all sectors and 19% of the USD 28.5 billion total for agrifood systems.
• There is a massive gap between available climate finance and the general financing needs of small-scale actors, with smallholder farmers requiring USD 170 billion and agri-SMEs requiring USD 106 billion annually.
• Funding for small-scale agrifood systems fell by 44% between the 2017/18 and 2019/20 periods, mirroring a broader 20% decline in climate finance for the agriculture, forestry, other land uses and fisheries (AFOLU) sector.
• Public entities provided 96% (USD 5.3 billion) of the climate finance for small-scale agrifood systems in 2019/20, with multilateral DFIs becoming the leading public contributors at USD 2.4 billion.
• Financial instruments are heavily skewed toward grants (USD 2.7 billion, 49%) and concessional debt (USD 2.2 billion, 39%), while equity investment is nearly non-existent at 0.6% (USD 0.03 billion).
• Adaptation was the primary climate objective, receiving 50% of finance, with 98% of that adaptation funding directed to non-OECD countries.
• Dual-objective funding (mitigation and adaptation) totaled USD 1.8 billion, but this figure is heavily skewed by China's Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program (CCFP), which accounts for USD 1 billion.
• Sub-Saharan Africa received the largest share of finance (34% or USD 1.86 billion), while South Asia (11%) and the Middle East and North Africa (1.5%) are significantly underserved relative to their vulnerability.
• Agriculture received the most sub-sectoral funding (57%), followed by forestry (29%), while fisheries (0.5%) and food loss/waste (<0.1%) received negligible support.
• Small-scale agriculture and land-use change in developing countries are estimated to contribute approximately 5% of global GHG emissions, yet mitigation finance for these systems reached only USD 1 billion (0.2% of global mitigation finance).

APA

Chiriac, D., Vishnumolakala, H., & Rosane, P. (2023). The Climate Finance Gap for Small-Scale Agrifood Systems. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Climate-Finance-Gap-for-Small-Scale-Agrifood-Systems-3.pdf

Chicago

Chiriac, Daniela, Harsha Vishnumolakala, and Paul Rosane. The Climate Finance Gap for Small-Scale Agrifood Systems. Climate Policy Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Climate-Finance-Gap-for-Small-Scale-Agrifood-Systems-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chiriac |first1=Daniela |last2=Vishnumolakala |first2=Harsha |last3=Rosane |first3=Paul |title=The Climate Finance Gap for Small-Scale Agrifood Systems |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=November 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Climate-Finance-Gap-for-Small-Scale-Agrifood-Systems-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chiriac2023climate, author = {Chiriac, Daniela and Vishnumolakala, Harsha and Rosane, Paul}, title = {{The Climate Finance Gap for Small-Scale Agrifood Systems}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Climate-Finance-Gap-for-Small-Scale-Agrifood-Systems-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }