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The document evaluates LIMBUA Group Limited, a Kenyan SME processing macadamia, avocado, and mangoes, using the RAI Tool to measure compliance with CFS-RAI principles. The analysis finds high levels of compliance across most dimensions, particularly in human resource development and inclusive governance. LIMBUA supports 9,647 organic and FairTrade certified farmers in Embu and Kirinyaga counties, providing a 20% price premium and technical advisory services via its proprietary BioFarm digital system. Key challenges identified include competition from unethical brokers, climate change affecting production cycles, and difficulties in accessing local startup finance. The report recommends further investment in diversification, improved seasonal cash flow support for farmers, and government intervention to regulate brokers.

The report evaluates Mahembe Coffee, a small and medium-sized enterprise in Rwanda that produces, processes, and exports specialty coffee. Using the RAI Tool for Agribusiness, the study finds that the company generally maintains high compliance with responsible investment principles, largely driven by the founder's commitment to community development. Key strengths include fair pricing for farmers, inclusive governance, and environmental risk management. However, the report identifies risks related to the informal nature of its operations—such as a lack of written employment contracts—and the potential for this culture to wane as the business transitions to new shareholders. It recommends formalizing policies and procedures to ensure the continuity of its social and environmental standards.

The Acumen Climate Action Pakistan (ACAP) Fund is a USD 90 million blended finance facility, requesting USD 28 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), to support venture and growth-stage agribusinesses in Pakistan. The fund targets three investment themes: Farmer Platforms and Financial Solutions, Smart Farming, and Post-Harvest Technologies. It aims to benefit approximately 13.1 million people by improving farmer incomes, increasing the adoption of climate-smart agriculture, and reducing post-harvest losses. The program includes a USD 10 million Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) to support portfolio companies in areas such as gender initiatives, ESG reporting, and climate adaptation. ACAP seeks to demonstrate the commercial viability of adaptation-focused business models to catalyze further private sector investment in Pakistan's agriculture sector.

The Kuali Fund-GCF is a blended finance programme designed to catalyze private investment for climate mitigation and adaptation in Latin America and the Caribbean. It targets small financial service providers (FSPs) and innovative climate companies to bridge the financing gap for SMEs and smallholder farmers. The fund employs a 'Green Index 3.0' to transform FSPs into 'Super Green' institutions that offer sustainable financial products. With a total financing of 128.2 million Euros, including 32.8 million Euros from the Green Climate Fund, the programme aims to avoid 2,707,455 tons of CO2 equivalent and reach over 242,000 direct beneficiaries over a 10-12 year lifespan.

The Kuali Fund-GCF Gender Assessment analyzes gender disparities in the financial and agricultural sectors across Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama. It identifies systemic barriers—including limited access to credit, land ownership gaps, and the burden of unpaid care work—that hinder women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and female smallholder farmers. The report argues that women are more vulnerable to climate change and face a significant financing gap, which the fund aims to address through a Gender Action Plan (GAP) involving technical assistance, gender-responsive financial products, and capacity building for financial service providers (FSPs).

Danone has pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply by 30 percent by 2030. To achieve this, the company employs a systems approach involving farmer training, research funding for feed additives, and policy advocacy. Danone is a member of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance and the First Movers Coalition for Food to drive industry-wide reporting and demand for low-emissions agricultural solutions.

The report highlights the economic vulnerability of the 13 million people in the global tea sector, particularly smallholder farmers in developing countries who produced 60% of the world's tea in 2022. While voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) cover at least a quarter of global production, their impact on farmer incomes is limited, often because 90% of VSS-compliant tea is sold as conventional. The document calls for new approaches to reward sustainable practices and ensure fairer production.

The report examines the global tea market, highlighting the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to price volatility and climate change. It assesses the impact of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, noting that while they can provide price floors and premiums, a significant amount of certified tea is still sold as conventional. The document argues for a shift toward more transparent pricing, direct trade, and sustainable land management to ensure living incomes for producers.

The GRP 2024–2029 Strategy focuses on three transformative opportunities: regenerative food systems, reimagined finance flows, and community-led resilience. The partnership aims to scale locally-led innovations and bridge the adaptation finance gap, which is currently five to ten times lower than required for developing countries. Key goals include transforming food and financial systems, scaling formal-informal collaborations, increasing transdisciplinary learning, and embedding resilience in the private sector. Geographically, the strategy prioritises sub-Saharan Africa, South and South East Asia, and Small Island Developing States in the Pacific and Caribbean.

The proposed project aims to enhance the climate resilience of Benin's school feeding system by introducing energy-efficient cooking technologies in 2,500 canteens and supporting 4,000 smallholder farmers in adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices. With a total indicative cost of USD 50 million, the initiative seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from traditional biomass cooking and secure food supplies against climate threats like drought and flooding. The project includes capacity building for students, teachers, and parents to promote eco-responsible behaviors and the establishment of contract farming to link local producers with schools.

The report analyzes producer inclusion across executive, legislative, judicial, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) governance in six agricultural VSSSOs: African Organisation for Standardisation, Better Cotton, Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance, Trustea, and VietFarm. It finds that while some organizations reserve seats for producers, there is a widespread lack of voting and veto power, limited transparency in executive decisions, and a significant gap in producer representation within grievance and M&E processes. The document recommends that VSSSOs formally reserve seats for producers, support producer-led networks, and increase the transparency of governance and grievance decisions.

The SCPZ programme targets the Kara region in Togo, the Southern agropole in Senegal, and the Boké and Kankan regions in Guinea. It integrates climate adaptation and mitigation by investing in solar-powered drip irrigation, biogas energy for agro-processing, and climate-resilient agricultural (CRA) practices. The project aims to benefit 6.72 million people, with a strong focus on women, and expects to reduce 16.9 million tCO2eq over its lifespan.

Smallholder farms, particularly those between two and five hectares, produce 46% of the world's food and often exhibit higher land productivity and biodiversity than larger farms. While they are critical for global supply chains of products like coffee, cocoa, and tea, they face a 'yield gap'—ranging from 11% in East Asia to 76% in Sub-Saharan Africa—that could be closed through better access to modern agrifood chains and technology. In Africa, the adoption of climate-smart practices such as agroforestry and organic manure is heavily influenced by the availability of finance and credit. Smallholder agriculture is a primary economic driver in many developing nations, contributing 23% to the GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa.

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).

The ACAP Gender Assessment identifies systemic gender inequalities in Pakistan's agricultural sector, where women provide essential but largely unpaid and unrecognized labor while facing severe barriers to land ownership, credit, and education. The report highlights that Pakistan ranks first in Asia on a climate-agriculture-gender inequality hotspot index, leaving rural women particularly vulnerable to climate disasters. To address this, ACAP intends to apply a gender lens to its investments using 2X Challenge criteria, provide technical assistance for female farmers, and require portfolio companies to implement Gender Action Plans and SEAH (sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment) protections.

The Gender Action Plan for the 'Marajó Resiliente' project establishes a framework to integrate gender and racial equality into the scaling of diversified agroforestry systems (DAS) in the Marajo Archipelago. A gender-responsive budget of USD 4,666,157 (47% of the total budget) is allocated to support these goals. The plan includes the creation of a Local Advisory Committee with dedicated 'Gender' and 'Quilombola' Situation Rooms to monitor issues and improve strategies. Key targets include ensuring at least 50% of beneficiaries for DAS implementation and technical assistance are women, and at least 30% are Quilombola, particularly in Salvaterra. The plan also focuses on strengthening women-led associations to access markets and providing financial management training and a Reserve Fund for Community Access to Credit to reduce barriers for vulnerable smallholders.

The report examines the sugar cane sector, noting that while it supports over 100 million people globally, many smallholder farmers in developing countries remain in poverty due to low farm gate prices and high production costs. It evaluates the role of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) like Bonsucro and Fairtrade, noting that while approximately 8% of global production is VSS-compliant, the impact on farmer income is limited by a lack of demand for sustainable cane sugar. The document highlights that farmers face climate-related crop losses, biodiversity loss, and water depletion, alongside economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic and rising fertilizer costs.

The report examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can be integrated into trade policies to foster sustainable South-South trade. It identifies key barriers, such as high compliance costs and lack of demand, and provides case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to demonstrate successful integration strategies, including mutual recognition agreements and participatory guarantee systems.

The document details a pilot project in the Central Plateau region of Burkina Faso to transition from a sectoral to a regional approach for climate adaptation. Using a methodology based on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, the project conducted a risk and vulnerability assessment (RVA) that identified agriculture, water resources, livestock, environment, and health as the most vulnerable sectors. The resulting Regional Adaptation Plan (RAP) for 20242028 includes 44 priority actions. The pilot emphasizes the necessity of involving regional stakeholders, including women and the elderly, and notes that the process requires significant financial and human resources, taking approximately one year to complete.

The document examines the potential for EU and UK deforestation regulations to drive legislative reform in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa sector. While the EUDR's benchmarking and traceability requirements offer incentives for better forest governance and transparency, the report warns of risks to smallholder farmers, including potential exclusion from markets due to compliance costs and the persistence of child labour driven by poverty.