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.
Forest scene in Valjevo, Serbia. FAO/Oliver Bunic
Serbia: enhancing the resilience of Serbian forests to ensure energy security
In Serbia, the newly approved $84 million project will enhance the resilience of forests, contributing to energy security and supporting the livelihoods of 3.6 million people, which represents over half of the country’s population. This is Serbia’s first single-country GCF investment, which includes a $25 million GCF grant and $59 million in cofinancing, largely from the Government of Serbia. The project was developed by FAO in close cooperation with the Serbian Directorate of Forests and other key national partners.
This initiative, implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and two public enterprises, Srbijašume and Vojvodinašume, will promote sustainable and climate-resilient forest management, climate-adaptive silviculture, and the development of a carbon finance framework.
“Serbia is committed to a future where forests are protected, energy is secure, and economic growth is sustainable”, said Aleksandar Martinović, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Serbia. ‘’This project is a crucial step toward achieving that vision, ensuring that climate resilience and responsible resource management go hand in hand”.
Nearly 40 percent of Serbia’s population relies on fuelwood, putting immense pressure on forests and hindering the country’s climate goals. This project will address this challenge by supporting the afforestation of 7,000 hectares with climate-adaptive tree species, converting 51,000 hectares of degraded forests, and training over 2,500 forest managers in climate-adaptive practices.
The project will also engage the private sector in sustainable biomass value chains and aim to mobilize USD 50 million in private finance to support the decarbonization of agribusinesses. Furthermore, it will invest $13 million in capacity development and technology transfer for over 4,250 individuals from public and private institutions and update national curricula to benefit over 10,000 students. This comprehensive approach aims to reduce the vulnerability of Serbia’s forestry sector while enhancing energy security for over half the population.
FAO and the GCF
Since becoming partners in 2016, FAO and the GCF have been scaling up climate investments in high-impact projects that make the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient to climate change.
By leveraging global partnerships, FAO catalyzes public and private investments in climate change adaptation and mitigation actions through agriculture and food systems leading to better production, better nutrition, better environment and better lives, in line with the FAO Strategy on Climate Change 2022-2031.
The GCF – a critical element of the historic Paris Agreement – is the world’s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries in raising and achieving the ambition of their national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The FAO-GCF partnership supports over 50 million family farmers in 91 countries. With the newly approved grants, the portfolio now exceeds USD 1.5 billion.
