In the past decade, the ever-increasing need to tackle climate change and its effects has spurred global conversations and actions around climate finance, particularly from the Global South. The significance of smallholder farmers from the Global South in its contributions to the overall food security of the world is often overlooked, yet these farmers produce one third of the world’s food and hold the key to climate-proofing food systems. Nevertheless, the reality is that smallholder farmers from the Global South benefit from a grossly disproportionate 0.3% of international climate finance.
Due to the nature of their small-scale agricultural operations, smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and need a greater level of financial assistance than their larger counterparts. Furthermore, they often lack access to key resources and infrastructure such as irrigation, technological advancements and improved seed varieties that can be used to mitigate the impacts of climate change. As a result, smallholder farmer incomes can be highly volatile and their outlook for the future remains uncertain in the face of unpredictable weather and agricultural production.
Unfortunately, the amount of climate finance available to smallholder farmers in the Global South is shockingly low. According to data from the Climate Policy Initiative, smallholder farmers from the Global South received around USD 2 billion from public and private international climate funds out of the USD 8.4 billion total committed internationally. This incredibly disproportionate amount of 0.3%, highlights the need for an increased focus on providing financial support to farmers in these regions.
There are a few systemic issues that, if addressed, could lead to a more equitable and substantial level of climate finance allocated to smallholder farmers in the Global South. To start, there needs to be an increased understanding of the challenges these farmers face in light of the effects of climate change. An awareness and understanding of the nuanced needs of smallholder farmers among policymakers, investors and other stakeholders can motivate better decision-making and allocation of resources. Additionally, more public and private sector partnerships need to be made in order to increase the flow of capital to these farmers.
The development of technology and digital platforms can also play an essential role in empowering smallholders to be more self-reliant and provide them with the necessary tools to improve their financial security and increase their incomes. Technologies such as remote sensing can improve the accuracy of data collection and data-driven decision-making, which can help to inform better farming practices and effective use of climate finance. Furthermore, digital platforms can also enable access to potential financial resources, support services, effective management of resources, and market linkages.
Overall, addressing the systemic issues that impede the equitable access to climate finance by smallholder farmers in the Global South is critical in order to ensure their collective rights to food security, economic stability, and overall wellbeing. If more capital and explanatory effort is put into strengthening smallholder farmer capacity and empowering them with improved access to resources, then a greater amount of the world’s food supply can become climate-proofed and smallholder farmers can benefit from the economic and social development opportunities that come with this. The potential for the Global South to become a leader in climate resilience and the role of smallholder farmers in this transformation is vast, and investments in climate finance can ignite this essential and necessary shift.
