Search Climate Insights Directory

A research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute examining the barriers and drivers for the adoption of improved solar drying technologies among smallholder mango farmers in Mozambique's Inhambane Province.

This policy note by the South African Institute of International Affairs outlines the landscape of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Africa and provides five strategic recommendations for the 2025 South African G20 Presidency to advance agricultural resilience, financing, and digital transformation across the continent.

This policy brief outlines priorities for South Africa's G20 presidency to mainstream crop insurance as a tool for climate resilience in Africa. It evaluates the evolution of insurance models—from multi-peril to index-based and digital solutions—and recommends that the G20 promote high-quality, inclusive products, holistic risk management, and evidence-based subsidy frameworks to support smallholder farmers.

This policy brief discusses the evolution and expansion of Climate Field Schools (CFS) in Indonesia, specifically highlighting the EECCLiRe project's integration of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) principles to support Arabica coffee growers. It argues for expanding the CFS curriculum beyond climate information to include agroforestry, biodigesters, and the role of cooperatives in achieving sustainability certifications and market access.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides a strategic roadmap to scale climate finance for sustainable livestock systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It identifies a massive funding gap, where current flows are estimated at only USD 100 million annually against needs of USD 23.2 to 25.2 billion. The document analyzes investment barriers—including governance, physical climate, and macroeconomic risks—and proposes a combination of blended finance instruments and policy reforms to attract private capital, particularly for smallholder farmers.

This case study details the founding and growth of Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian startup established in 2017 by entrepreneur Desmond to digitize the agricultural value chain and connect smallholder farmers to global markets. The document outlines the company's operational model, its focus on youth employment, and the infrastructure and funding challenges it faces while scaling across Africa.

This guide provides a strategic playbook for concessional capital providers to mobilize investment in climate-smart agrifood systems. It identifies a significant financing gap—with global climate finance for the sector reaching only USD 95 billion in 2021/22—and proposes five 'investment plays' to address market failures. These strategies include system-level alignment with national goals, large-scale natural capital restoration, strengthening shared infrastructure, expanding technical assistance for innovation, and scaling local financial intermediaries. The document includes a four-step framework for investor action and detailed case studies of blended finance vehicles operating across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the potential for carbon markets to provide climate finance to Malawi. It discusses the transition toward a regulated framework following the finalisation of Article 6 rules at COP29, the role of the Malawi Carbon Markets Initiative, and the importance of community-led projects like the Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program in ensuring equitable benefit-sharing.

This research paper examines the Jamaican specialty coffee industry through an environmental justice lens, analyzing how neoliberal restructuring, colonial legacies, and asymmetrical power structures affect smallholders' ability to adapt to climate change.

This briefing by the African Food Systems Transformation Collective examines the intersection of trade policy and the transition to agroecological food systems in Africa. It argues that current trade regimes, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), often prioritize industrial agriculture and neoliberal orthodoxy, which can marginalize smallholder farmers and undermine food sovereignty. The document advocates for a shift toward 'territorial markets' and regional trade policies that align with agroecological principles to enhance food security, nutrition, and environmental resilience.

This policy brief examines the potential for carbon markets to provide finance for climate-resilient smallholder farmers in Africa. It argues that while carbon markets can fund climate-smart agricultural practices that improve soil health and food security, significant barriers—including strict credit requirements, high costs, and a lack of localized research—currently limit participation. The document calls for policymakers to move away from 'one-size-fits-all' regulations and instead prioritize frameworks that value non-carbon co-benefits like nutrition and economic development.

This report describes the development and pilot testing of the Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI) Tool for Agribusiness, a management instrument designed to help agricultural value chain actors (AVCAs) align their operations with international standards like the CFS-RAI Principles and IFC Performance Standards. The report synthesizes results from five case studies of agribusinesses in Africa, analyzing how company strategy, management systems, and external business conditions influence their compliance with responsible investment practices.

This report provides a collection of stakeholder perspectives, interviews, and background data regarding a licensed buying company (LBC) operating within Ghana's cocoa industry. It details the financial challenges facing LBCs, the impact of climate change on cocoa yields, the implementation of digital traceability and certification systems, and the social dynamics of labor and gender in the sector.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the impact of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia. While the EUDR aims to eliminate deforestation from the EU market for six key commodities, the report highlights significant barriers for smallholders—including high compliance costs, lack of technical capacity, and land tenure insecurity—that risk excluding them from global value chains. The authors propose establishing knowledge hubs, financial support mechanisms, and enhanced stakeholder coordination to ensure an inclusive transition.

This case study examines Tropic Coffee, a Rwandan small and medium enterprise (SME) that processes and exports specialty Arabica green coffee beans. The document assesses the company's alignment with the Committee on World Food Security’s Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) using a dedicated RAI Tool for Agribusiness. While the company demonstrates high compliance in social empowerment and stakeholder relations, it lacks a formal documented strategy for responsible business conduct.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative examines the role of sustainable debt and climate transition finance in the agri-food sector, specifically focusing on crop and livestock production. It analyzes the current state of the sustainable debt market, the necessity of reaching smallholder farmers, and the development of science-based Sector Criteria to guide investments toward net-zero goals and deforestation-free sourcing.

This report by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the role of smallholder farmers in global food security, their productivity, and their adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. It highlights that small-scale farms, particularly those between two and five hectares, produce a significant portion of the world's food and often exhibit higher land productivity and biodiversity than larger farms. The document emphasizes the importance of integrating smallholders into modern agrifood supply chains and providing financial resources to scale climate-smart agricultural practices, especially in Africa.

This research paper evaluates the impact of integrated crop-poultry systems on food security and farm income for smallholder farmers in semi-arid Kenya, finding that combining livestock (indigenous chickens) with crop-based climate-smart agriculture practices yields higher benefits than single-technology adoption.

The Rabobank Acorn Agroforestry Carbon Programme, supported by FSD Africa, utilizes a technology-enabled marketplace for carbon sequestration to provide financial sustainability for smallholder farmers in Africa transitioning to agroforestry. The program leverages carbon credits as Payment for Ecological Services (PES) to monetize natural capital, with pilot phase activities including the disbursement of carbon loans and technical training in Zambia, Kenya, and Nigeria.

This case study describes how a group of young women called Mashujaa in the Singida region of Tanzania transitioned from climate-vulnerable crop cultivation to beekeeping to build economic resilience against erratic rainfall patterns.