At the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) in Bonn, the UNFCCC Farmers’ Constituency, represented by the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), actively contributed to the Presidency-led consultation with stakeholders on the development of the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to USD 1.3 Trillion, urging Parties to place farmers at the heart of climate finance discussions.

The consultation builds on the decision adopted at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which calls for “all actors to work together to enable the scaling up of financing to developing country Parties for climate action from all public and private sources to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.” The Baku to Belém Roadmap, a key deliverable for COP30, is expected to guide this global effort to close the climate finance gap. The event provided an opportunity for interested stakeholders to share their perspectives on the development of the Roadmap and foster a solutions-oriented dialogue through the exchange of best practices.

Delivering the intervention on behalf of the Constituency, WFO Secretary General Andrea Porro reaffirmed the need to address systemic barriers that prevent farmers—particularly women, youth, and family farmers—from accessing climate finance. He noted: “The Roadmap is a chance to address persistent barriers such as weak financial infrastructure, high transaction costs and lack of collateral or credit history, hindering access for all farmers, especially women, youth and family farmers.”

Screenshot from the event “Presidency-led consultation event with stakeholders on the Baku to Belém Roadmap to  1.3 T″; Image courtesy of UN Climate Change

The intervention drew on the Farmers’ Constituency submission made earlier this year, which outlines the views and expectations of farmers regarding the Baku to Belém Roadmap. It identifies three core priorities for delivering finance that works for farmers:

1. Scaling up adaptation finance, prioritising grants, highly concessional funding and non-debt instruments, in line with the COP30 Presidency’s call for “climate realism” to build trust and support recovery from losses and damages.
2. Diversifying financial tools, including blended finance, risk-sharing mechanisms, and insurance schemes tailored to farmers’ needs and contexts.
3. Empowering farmer organisations and cooperatives as direct access channels and trusted intermediaries to ensure finance reaches the farm level effectively.

Porro referenced practical examples highlighted in the submission, including Kenya’s “Farm Pass” and Burundi’s cooperative-led soil restoration initiatives, as evidence that farmer-led innovation is already delivering results on the ground—and can be scaled with the proper financial support.

Looking ahead, the Farmers’ Constituency expressed its commitment to working with Parties and all relevant actors over the next two to five years to align resource mobilisation with local priorities, scale farmer-led initiatives, and streamline multilateral mechanisms, especially Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and international climate funds, by simplifying access, accelerating timelines, and involving farmers in governance processes.

In closing, the Constituency underlined a key political message: “The key to unlocking finance in agriculture is to see farmers not just as beneficiaries but as partners and agents of change.”

Cover photo: ©WFO