Adapt or starve –IFAD calls for urgent climate finance

With the negative impacts of climate change becoming more frequent and severe, including devastating droughts and floods affecting the poorest rural communities in the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, and most recently Nigeria, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is calling for urgent and increased financing to support hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers adapt to climate change.
“Many rural communities don’t have a choice, they need to adapt now or risk severe food insecurity in the future. We must act today as the window to help rural people adapt, survive and protect their communities is rapidly narrowing. It is our collective responsibility to respond immediately,” said Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD.
Small-scale producers are essential to global food security but only receive 1.7 percent of climate finance – though they produce one-third of the world’s food overall. Many of the 3 billion people living in the rural areas of developing countries rely on small-scale farming for their food and livelihoods.