Smallholder farmers in Africa are increasingly vulnerable to climate change. Rising temperatures, droughts, and shifting rainfall patterns threaten their livelihoods and food security. Cultivating 80 per cent of Africa's farmland, they face several challenges, including poor market access and limited inputs, which reduce agricultural productivity, crop yields, and income, further limiting their adaptive capacity.

The programme aims to enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers and the agriculture value chain, ultimately promoting increased productivity and food security. It will invest in venture, early and early-growth stage companies that offer bundled adaptation solutions tailored for smallholder farmers. This adaptation-focused blended-finance venture capital fund will build upon the success of ARAF I (FP078), which was anchored by GCF. The Technical Assistance Facility will also support investee companies and smallholder farmers in climate resilience, integrating gender considerations, measuring impact and advancing business development.  

The programme enables smallholder farmers to adopt climate-resilient agricultural practices and access adaptation funding while also providing early-stage capital for innovative climate solutions, business models and technologies to early-stage ventures and micro, small, medium-sized enterprises (MSME).

GCF’s USD 30 million equity contribution will be matched by USD 90 million equity co-financing towards a USD 120 million fund. GCF will also provide USD 4 million in non-reimbursable grant to a USD 12 million Technical Assistance facility.