Songdo/Rome – The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved funding for two new projects valued at over $130 million to bolster climate resilience and promote sustainable development in Kenya and Serbia.
The initiatives led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) represent a major investment that will enhance vulnerable communities’ ability to adapt to climate change, improve livelihoods, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“This landmark decision underscores the strength of FAO’s partnership with GCF and our central role in accelerating countries’ access to climate finance,” said Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, welcoming the news. “Together we can continue scaling up solutions to simultaneously transform agrifood systems and achieve global climate mitigation and adaptation goals”.
The announcements were made today during the 41st meeting of the GCF Board held in Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea from 17-20 February.
Kenya: transforming livelihoods through climate-resilient and low-emission agricultural value chains
In Kenya, the $50 million project ($29.2 million GCF grant and $20.8 million in co-financing) will transform agricultural value chains in the Lake Region Economic Bloc, benefiting 2.7 million people, half of whom are women.
This densely populated region is highly dependent on agriculture, but climate change impacts such as increasing temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and floods threaten food security and livelihoods.
“The Kenyan government is strongly committed to addressing climate change impacts, implementing ambitious policies and measures to achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution goals as outlined in the Botton-Up-Economic Agenda (BETA), said John Mbadi, Cabinet Secretary to the National Treasury. ”The Kenyan government greatly appreciates FAO Kenya’s crucial support in building climate resilience within the agricultural sector through this GCF program and pledges its full support and commitment in its implementation.”
The initiative, implemented in collaboration with the Government of Kenya, Agriterra, and the Government of Denmark, will promote climate-resilient and low-carbon practices in six value chains: dairy, poultry, coffee, tea, fruit trees, and African leafy vegetables.
The project will provide over 143,000 farmers (men and women) with training and support to adopt climate-smart technologies and practices, strengthening their resilience to climate change and increasing their household incomes.
By leveraging Agriterra’s extensive experience with cooperatives and working with the private sector including banks, the project will also improve access to markets and finance, promote sustainable land management practices across 30,000 hectares, and create up to 3,000 jobs. This holistic approach aims to trigger a paradigm shift towards climate-resilient, low-carbon, and sustainable agriculture in the region.
