Green Climate Fund resources will now start flowing to help poor farmers in northern Namibia tackle climate change following the signing today of a Funded Activity Agreement (FAA).

The FAA signing with the Namibian Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) marks the last stage of approval before GCF resources are disbursed to begin climate finance activities on the ground.

The finalization of the FAA, the second so far by GCF, took place during the 15th GCF Board meeting held in Samoa.

“We can now get started on helping many of the communities in three regions of Northern Namibia who rely on crop farming to support their families,” said Karl Aribeb, representing EIF at the signing ceremony. “This project will support farmers use climate-resilient agricultural practices to grow food, as well as providing them with access to renewable energy,” he explained.

The Executive Director ad interim of the GCF Secretariat, Javier Manzanares said the signing of the FAA marked another step in the Fund’s ongoing efforts to drive country ownership and access of the Fund’s approved climate finance initiatives. “It is heartening to note that this agreement comes only two months after EIF signed GCF’s readiness programme,” he said.

The Namibian Environmental Investment Fund, one of GCF’s Accredited Entities, signed a readiness grant during the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech to help it reach out to Namibian stakeholders and ensure disbursed finance reaches climate-affected communities.

The signing of the agreement authorizes the start of this climate-resilient project, which addresses a range of agricultural risks in Namibia - associated with reduced crop yields and loss of ecosystem degradation, including a decline of clean water.

In addition to enhancing climate-resilient agriculture and access to solar energy, the project will fund the establishment of a Climate Resilient Agriculture Centre of Excellence to trial farming practices.