From the Farmer Up: Redesigning Climate Finance Around the People Delivering the Solutions
About the session
Smallholder farmers are on the front lines of climate change and central to many of the solutions we need, from regenerative agriculture and tree planting to stewardship of climate-critical landscapes. Yet the systems designed to finance those solutions often don't fit the realities of farming.
Adaptation takes economic runway. Farmers cannot take on new practices if doing so puts already fragile livelihoods at greater risk. Climate finance can also arrive with complex measurement, reporting and verification requirements that satisfy funders but place disproportionate demands on the people expected to deliver the impact.
What would change if adaptation finance were designed from the farmer up?
This session will explore how capital can reach smallholders more directly, how profitable climate-smart cooperatives can make regenerative practices economically viable, and how evidence can demonstrate real impact without creating excessive burdens or compromising farmers' privacy. It will also examine how direct funding to local leaders, including those connecting regenerative agriculture with opportunities for girls, can strengthen resilience beyond the farm itself.
Discussion Group Leaders
Aaron Ebner is Executive Director at Alianza Andina, advancing climate-resilient livelihoods, regenerative agriculture, and nature-positive growth with smallholder farmers in the Peruvian Andes.
Natalie Petrulla is Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships and Programs at Fairtrade America, advancing partnerships and programs that support fairer, more sustainable trade and livelihoods.
A practical conversation grounded in the experience of farmers, local organisations and those financing agricultural adaptation. Participants will explore what gets in the way of last-mile finance, where current MRV approaches create unnecessary friction, and what more farmer-centred models could look like.
Who this is for
This session is for climate and adaptation funders, agricultural practitioners, investors, philanthropists, local organisations, researchers and policymakers interested in getting more climate capital to smallholder farmers and making regenerative agriculture economically sustainable.
What you will get out of it
Practical approaches to getting adaptation capital closer to smallholder farmers
Insights into making regenerative and climate-smart agriculture economically viable for farming communities
New perspectives on balancing credible MRV with farmers' time, resources and privacy
Examples of farmer-reported evidence and locally led approaches to measuring resilience
Connections across climate finance, agriculture, local leadership and community resilience