Climate Finance Is Failing the Food System—And the World’s Most Vulnerable Are Paying the Price

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As floods drown fields and hunger tightens its grip across Sub-Saharan Africa, billions in climate finance are flowing into solar panels and bioenergy—leaving the food systems that feed the world starving for support. A new report from the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) reveals a stark disconnect between where the money is going and where it's needed most.

According to the Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems 2025, funding for agrifood systems rose to $94.9 billion in 2021/22, more than triple the amount tracked just two years earlier. But while the numbers sound promising, they conceal an uncomfortable truth: almost half of that surge comes from better data tracking, not new capital. And nearly all of the real gains are concentrated in just two regions—China and Western Europe.

Meanwhile, the regions most exposed to climate shocks—the ones growing our cocoa, coffee, cassava, maize, and millet—are being left behind. Sub-Saharan Africa received just 8% of global agrifood climate finance. Latin America’s share fell. South Asia continues to rely heavily on concessional aid.

“We’re seeing billions flow into solar fields, but very little into the fields that feed us,” said Harsha Vishnumolakala, one of the report’s lead authors. “The global food system’s climate finance gap isn’t just a technical shortfall. It’s a justice issue.”

When the Money Misses the Meal

Agrifood systems produce nearly one-third of global emissions, employ over a billion people, and support 86% of the world’s most threatened species. They are, as CPI puts it, both the problem and the solution. But finance flows don’t reflect this dual reality. Only 7.2% of global climate finance went to food and agriculture in 2021/22. To meet climate goals, that figure needs to rise twelvefold.

Where the money does go often has little to do with food. Nearly half of agrifood-related finance targeted mitigation, mostly in energy-related projects like agrivoltaics in China or biomass plants in Japan. On-the-ground solutions—like soil carbon management, biochar, regenerative grazing, or drought-resistant seeds—remained severely underfunded.

Adaptation, arguably the most pressing need for the world's smallholder farmers, accounted for just 14% of agrifood climate finance. Most of it came in the form of grants. Philanthropic finance, while growing, still represents a tiny fraction of the overall picture.

The Equity Gap

Private capital has grown, but only where risks are low and returns are high. Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America—where agrifood systems are lifelines for millions—received less than 5% of global private agrifood climate finance combined. Commercial banks and corporations continue to overlook high-impact, high-need regions.

Meanwhile, farmers are left facing the climate frontline without tools, training, or access to affordable credit. Women, who make up the majority of smallholder farmers in many regions, are particularly marginalized. Without gender-sensitive finance mechanisms, adaptation strategies will continue to reinforce inequality.

Yet, change models exist. Ghana’s GIRSAL has unlocked over $100 million in agri-loans using risk-sharing tools. Aquarech in Kenya is using digital platforms to boost yields and incomes in sustainable aquaculture. Nestlé’s Income Accelerator in Côte d’Ivoire combines pre-harvest finance and training for cocoa farmers, raising incomes by 38% in less than two years.

What About the Rest of the Food System?

If CPI’s report has a quiet scandal, it’s this: sustainable diets and food loss reduction receive next to no climate finance. Just $0.4 billion—or 0.5% of all agrifood climate finance—went to food system transformation beyond the farm. That includes alternative proteins, circular food business models, and post-harvest infrastructure that could drastically cut emissions and increase resilience.

In cities, where over 70% of the world’s food is consumed, local innovations are thriving without adequate support. From dynamic pricing and food redistribution apps to compost hubs and ugly produce upcyclers like Mexico’s ChumChum, urban climate solutions are scaling on a shoestring. What they lack is catalytic finance.

A Call for a Course Correction

The CPI report isn’t just a data dump—it’s a reckoning. It shows that current finance flows are not aligned with planetary boundaries or social equity. But it also points to what’s possible: blended finance platforms like AGRI3 and the IFC-OCP agri-finance initiative are unlocking real capital. Digital tools are lowering barriers for farmers. Governments are starting to embed agrifood into climate strategies, albeit slowly.

The upcoming UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment and COP30 in Brazil are crucial tests. Will agrifood finally be funded like the climate lever it is? Or will the world keep subsidizing fossil-heavy farming and call it resilience?

The food system is not just a victim of climate change. It is also a driver. And more importantly, it can be a healer. But only if we start putting our money where our mouths are.