Climate Change: $150 billion a year needed to safeguard South Asia food production: Report

Mumbai: A whopping $150 billion a year is needed to meet the adaptation costs of smallholders in South Asia who produce at least 70 per cent of the region's food, according to a research released in the run up to the COP30 Climate Summit.

The research was conducted by Climate Focus for the Family Farmers for Climate Action — a new global alliance representing 95 million small-scale producers across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific.

Smallholders with 10 hectares of land or less require $443 billion a year to build resilience and adapt to climate impacts - equivalent to an annual average investment of $952 for a one hectare farm or $2.19 a day.

Global spending on smallholder adaptation amounted to $1.59 billion in 2021 or just 0.36 per cent of what’s needed. On average smallholders spend 20 - 40 per cent of their annual income on adaptive measures - totalling $368 billion a year, according to a press statement released globally. 

Elizabeth Nsimadala, President of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF) which represents 25 million smallholders said: “This isn’t charity - it's an investment in the food security of people right around the globe. Smallholders produce half the world’s food calories, support 2.5 billion livelihoods, and are central to global supply chains of commodities such as rice, wheat, cocoa and coffee. Investing in smallholder adaptation benefits us all.”

Esther Penunia, Secretary-General of the Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA) which represents 12 millions smallholders said, “Governments must agree to a major boost in adaptation finance to protect our farms from the storms, drought, and heatwaves that are wreaking havoc across the globe. Getting more finance to smallholders through their organisations will have the greatest impact. To achieve this governments and funders must make it easier for family farmer organisations to directly access finance, and back the creation of a new dedicated Farmers Resiliency Fund - led by family farmers’ organisations.”