COP30: Empowering Smallholders for Global Food Security
To achieve global climate and developmental goals, smallholder farmers must be at the center of climate action, according to Gabriel Ferrero, strategic advisor to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
Despite food security being a fundamental priority under the Paris Agreement, agriculture and food systems have been largely overlooked in climate negotiations. This neglect persists despite farming and land use being highly vulnerable to climate impacts, particularly for smallholder farmers and small-scale food producers.
Agriculture is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, but it is also a potential source of solutions.
- Agrifood systems receive only 4.3% of total climate finance.
- Smallholder farmers, who produce up to 80% of food in developing countries, receive only a fraction of climate finance.
Author's summary: Empowering smallholders is key to global food security.