Search Climate Insights Directory

Analysis by Climate Central indicates that all 25 analyzed coffee-producing countries, representing 97% of global production, experienced an increase in 'coffee-harming heat' (temperatures above 30°C) between 2021 and 2025 due to carbon pollution. The top five producers—Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Indonesia—saw an average of 57 additional days of such heat annually. Brazil, the largest producer, experienced 70 extra days of coffee-harming heat per year on average. These conditions threaten both arabica and robusta coffee varieties, with arabica being more sensitive to heat. The report warns that land suitable for coffee farming could decrease by 50% by 2050 without adaptation, potentially leading to deforestation as farmers move to higher elevations.

A field study in Kenya by Phaesun found that while solar cooling reduces post-harvest losses and increases income, economic viability varies significantly by operational model. Market- and export-oriented operations are highly viable with 3-4 year payback periods, whereas individual smallholder models require 40-100% subsidisation due to high commercial interest rates of 15-20%. The study identifies an "impact capital gap" and suggests that success depends on product value, scale, and the use of blended finance or Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) models.

The evaluation of solar-powered community mills in Uttar Pradesh shows that utilizing idle solar irrigation capacity for milling reduces costs and travel distances for smallholders while improving food freshness. While the project yielded modest gains in women's autonomy and mobility, sustained adoption was hindered by operational challenges such as operator unavailability and infrastructure issues. The document recommends integrating secondary-use models into India's PM-KUSUM scheme to optimize solar asset utilization.

The report details a randomized control trial (RCT) involving 242 SunCulture customers in Kenya to test whether providing free electric pressure cookers (EPCs) powered by solar irrigation batteries could reduce reliance on polluting fuels. The pilot found that while EPCs are feasible and generally liked, their adoption is hindered by intra-household gender dynamics—where men typically control battery use while women control cooking—and competition with other appliances like televisions. Although the intervention increased EPC usage by 49 percentage points, the impact on displacing traditional fuels like firewood and charcoal was not statistically significant, likely due to the availability of LPG among the relatively wealthier study participants. The authors recommend integrating secondary-use mechanisms into solar irrigation programs, redirecting LPG subsidies toward e-cooking, and developing 'priority ports' to ensure energy is allocated to cooking.

The PrAda 2+ project is a six-year initiative designed to adapt agricultural value chains in Madagascar to climate change, specifically targeting the coffee, clove, peanut, pepper, and vanilla sectors. With a total budget of 61,338,446.72 Euros (including 43,623,766.13 Euros from the Green Climate Fund), the project aims to benefit 314,800 direct and 2,650,000 indirect beneficiaries across the regions of Androy, Anosy, Atsimo-Atsinanana, Vatovavy, Fitovinany, and Atsinanana. The project focuses on three main components: implementing climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) technologies, expanding financial services for CRA investments through the Agricultural Development Fund (FDA), and improving the entrepreneurial and institutional environment for agricultural services. Key interventions include the dissemination of tailored agrometeorological information, the promotion of climate-resilient crop varieties, and the establishment of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).

The study examines the adoption of solar drying technologies to reduce mango post-harvest losses in Mozambique's Inhambane Province, finding that while these technologies can improve food security and livelihoods, adoption is hindered by high costs, lack of technical knowledge, and poor market access.

The report examines the intersection of climate change and food security in Nigeria, highlighting how extreme weather, conflict, and poor infrastructure threaten agricultural productivity. It analyzes the alignment of the FMAFS Road Map, NATIP, and the NDC, while identifying critical gaps in budget utilization and policy coordination. The document advocates for a shift toward community-led, climate-smart agriculture and improved financial transparency to achieve long-term resilience.

The report details a workshop held in October 2025 to align various food system stakeholders—including farm workers, informal traders, and small-scale farmers—with the requirements of South Africa's Climate Change Act (CCA). It argues that current top-down climate responses, such as the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan (CCAMP), reinforce corporate agricultural models and fail to address structural inequalities. The workshop proposes an alternative paradigm based on agroecology, redistributive land reform, and a just transition that integrates labour rights and community agency. It outlines specific policy entry points within the CCA, such as the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan (NASP) and Sector Adaptation Plans, and provides a coordinated action plan for civil society engagement through 2026.

The document analyzes the current state of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Africa, identifying systemic barriers such as fragmented policies, significant funding gaps, and the exclusion of smallholder farmers. It highlights opportunities in digital technology, indigenous knowledge, and private sector engagement. To address these, it recommends that the South African G20 Presidency champion blended finance mechanisms, strengthen regional collaboration through Regional Economic Communities (RECs), integrate traditional knowledge into policy, improve monitoring and evaluation systems, and accelerate the adoption of agri-tech.

The Agri-Smallholder Resilience Fund (ASRF) is a USD 22.5 million blended finance vehicle designed to address a USD 7 billion agricultural credit gap in the Philippines. Managed by the agri-tech platform Mayani, the fund utilizes a three-tier capital structure—comprising senior debt (50%), junior debt (30%), and catalytic first-loss capital (20%)—to provide loans to agri-aqua cooperatives. The ASRF employs a 'whole-of-value-chain' de-risking strategy that bundles working capital with parametric insurance, corporate offtake agreements, climate-smart inputs, and cold storage infrastructure. A USD 1 million pilot targeting 2,800 farmers in the Cordillera Mountain region will precede a full rollout aiming to reach 8,800 smallholders over five years. The fund targets a debtholder internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 9% and projects annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of 4,400 to 10,600 tonnes of CO2e for the pilot phase.

IREN Agri is a blended debt fund designed to support climate-smart agriculture in West Africa, starting with a cocoa-focused pilot in Côte d’Ivoire. The vehicle combines medium-term loans, multi-year offtake agreements, and digital technical assistance via the SUTTI platform to reduce investor risk and improve smallholder resilience. The fund aims to scale from a EUR 12.5 million pilot to a EUR 100 million fund by 2028, targeting a serviceable obtainable market of over EUR 500 million across six West African countries.

The Price Risk Facility (PRF), developed by Agtuall, is an insurance mechanism that bundles price protection into agricultural loans to stabilize smallholder farmer incomes and reduce credit risk for lenders. While India has government schemes like PMFBY for production risks, price risk remains largely unaddressed. The PRF uses a grant-funded risk pool to catalyze insurer participation and aims to scale from current pilots to insuring USD 500 million annually within three years. The facility intends to transition from pure price insurance to comprehensive revenue insurance covering both yield and price risks.

The IEJ welcomes the conclusion of the G20 Task Force on Food Security, which focused on systemic drivers of hunger such as food price volatility, speculative market behavior, and climate shocks. The statement advocates for the implementation of buffer stocks, public food stock holdings, and agroecological approaches to build climate resilience and ensure food affordability. It highlights that 673 million people globally were impacted by hunger in 2024, with a significant rise in Africa. The IEJ, acting as a Resource Partner, emphasizes that the right to food must be central to global governance and that structural reforms should prioritize equity and the needs of smallholder farmers and low-income households.

The policy brief argues that while crop insurance can enhance climate resilience and food security by protecting livelihoods and encouraging investment, adoption in Africa remains low due to design flaws and affordability. It reviews lessons from multi-peril and index-based insurance, highlighting the need to reduce basis risk through AI and digital innovations. The authors recommend that South Africa's G20 presidency promote high-quality, inclusive insurance products, integrate them into holistic risk management strategies alongside social protection, and develop 'smart subsidy' approaches tailored to different farmer profiles.

The document examines food price volatility in South Africa, attributing it to climate change, global shocks, and corporate market concentration. It proposes a phased implementation of public buffer stocks—beginning with white maize and expanding to wheat and indigenous grains—to protect vulnerable households and support smallholder farmers. The authors suggest that such a system, if governed transparently and linked to agroecological practices, could eventually integrate into a regional SADC mechanism to strengthen food sovereignty across Southern Africa.

The report argues that producers are often marginalized in the decision-making processes of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs). It defines a spectrum of engagement—ranging from informative to empowering—and outlines core principles for 'good' engagement: transparency, inclusivity, support, influence, and responsiveness. Based on round table discussions with VSSSO representatives, the document identifies current practices such as inclusive governance and localized engagement, while highlighting barriers like limited tangible benefits for producers and reliance on intermediaries. It concludes with specific recommendations to move from consultation to collaboration, including co-designing innovations and aligning engagement with livelihood improvements.

The document examines the role of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in Malawi's economic transformation and climate adaptation. While CSA is central to national policies like Malawi Vision 2063, widespread adoption is hindered by insecure land tenure, limited finance, and under-resourced extension services. The brief argues for a shift from short-term input subsidies toward long-term resilience investments, improved digital advisory services, and the institutionalization of participatory learning models like Farmer Field Schools.

The document examines the evolution of Climate Field Schools (CFS) in Indonesia, from their origins in pest management to their current role in delivering climate information via the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG). Drawing on the EECCLiRe project, it advocates for integrating ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) strategies—specifically agroforestry and biodigesters—into the CFS curriculum. It highlights the role of farmer cooperatives in facilitating certification, market access, and financial resilience, and suggests that combining climate forecasts with market data can empower farmers as sustainable agro-businesses.

The briefing highlights the vulnerability of sub-Saharan African food systems to climate change, noting that women bear a disproportionate burden despite their crucial roles. It critiques industrial agriculture for exacerbating inequalities and environmental degradation, proposing agroecology as a solution to enhance biodiversity, soil health, and food sovereignty.

The document details the methodology used to quantify investment risks (governance, financing, physical climate, market, infrastructure, and nature) and attributes (horizon, ticket size, and return) for livestock in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It establishes a scoring system to match these risks with the risk tolerances of various public and private investors, while modeling how different finance and policy strategies (IFS and IFPS) could improve investor suitability. The analysis distinguishes between small-scale farms (2-10 hectares) and large-scale commercial farms (10+ hectares) across Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and the rest of LAC, noting that small farms are primarily served by public and concessional finance, whereas large farms have better access to commercial private finance.