Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers

The project aims to build a 'climate risk protection shield' for 840,000 individuals in Zambian smallholder households by transitioning from aid-dependent interventions to self-sustaining markets. It consists of three components: restructuring the insurance sector through a not-for-profit reinsurance cell, strengthening the indigenous tree seedling supply chain via a national certification system and 1,000 nurseries, and utilizing the One Acre Fund platform to provide climate-resilient inputs and training to 65,000 households. The total investment is USD 30,261,554, including USD 5,261,554 in co-financing from One Acre Fund.

• Zambian smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to climate change, with projected maize yield decreases of up to 22% by 2050 due to temperature increases of 1.8-1.9°C.
• The project targets 840,000 direct beneficiaries (approximately 140,000 households), representing 9% of Zambia's smallholder population.
• A primary barrier to adaptation is a market failure where commercial reinsurers view Zambian agricultural risk as too high, leading to unavailable or prohibitively expensive insurance.
• The project will establish a not-for-profit reinsurance cell to de-risk the insurance market, allowing for higher-loss-ratio products that provide more value to farmers.
• To combat deforestation and soil erosion, the project will produce 20 million indigenous tree seedlings and establish a national seed certification and quality database.
• The project utilizes a revolving fund model for climate-smart inputs, where farmers contribute to costs to ensure the capital can be reused for subsequent seasons with an estimated leakage rate of less than 5%.
• The initiative includes specific gender-empowerment targets, including a goal for 71,400 women to access improved insurance and a requirement that 50% of insurance products address the needs of women farmers.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers. 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers |date=17 April 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026catalyzing, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }