A key agreement signed today between the Green Climate Fund and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will help pioneer new land-based pathways of climate action.

The signing of the Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA) in the margins of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly creates the potential for GCF to finance IFAD climate projects that empower rural people in developing countries. AMAs act as legal frameworks detailing the overarching rights and obligations of GCF Accredited Entities, such as IFAD.

GCF Deputy Executive Director Javier Manzanares said the AMA signing will help GCF enhance its support for those on the frontline of climate change by improving their adaptive capacities, while at the same time supporting global mitigation measures.

“Extreme weather events such storms and floods – in addition to the more slow-moving climate disruptions of rising sea levels, melting glaciers and droughts – are putting inordinate pressures on farmers,” said Mr Manzanares. “It is essential we find ways to increase their resilience to climate change, especially considering that three quarters of the poorest people live in the rural areas of developing countries.”

Improved farming practices that sequester carbon in the soil also have a great mitigation potential, as agriculture is one of highest greenhouse gas emitting sectors, added Mr Manzanares.

IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo highlighted how GCF resources can expand on IFAD’s work to channel climate and environmental finance to smallholder farmers.

"As a leader in the field of adaptation for smallholder farmers, IFAD can further strengthen its climate resilience work with GCF resources to benefit farming communities and rural ecosystems more directly, " said Mr Houngbo. "With this new deal in place we are in a good position to advance the objectives of the GCF by focusing its activities on the most vulnerable groups whose livelihoods depend on climate-sensitive natural resources."

IFAD is an international financial institution and specialised United Nations agency based in Rome. Since 1978, it has provided about USD 20.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached some 476 million people.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was created as an operating entity of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the goal of supporting global efforts to respond to the challenge of climate change. GCF is the largest dedicated climate fund, and has a mandate to serve the Paris Agreement.