People-Centered Resilience

Globally, 1.7 billion farmers are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The many who are already hungry are particularly vulnerable. World hunger currently stands at 1.02 billion people, its highest level ever. Yet scaling up localized ‘resilience’ successes offers hope for these farmers, while helping to address the climate problem.
New thinking to recognize vulnerable farmers as critical partners in delivering solutions is needed to increase their resilience and to enable them to help combat climate change.
Vulnerable farmers and pastoralists – including particularly vulnerable groups such as women – should be treated as key partners in the struggle against climate change.
Bold new public investment to the supporting institutions will be needed.

Key recommendations

• Invest more and more wisely in agriculture to accomplish multiple goals. New public investments in agriculture emphasizing agro-ecological approaches are essential to improving food security; helping vulnerable farmers adapt to climate change; and mitigating climate change.
• Commit to providing $150 bn in mitigation and adaptation funding across sectors above and beyond the 0.7 per cent of their budgets that donor nations have committed (but not necessarily delivered on) as Official Development Assistance (ODA).
• Foster ‘people-centered resilience’ to help vulnerable small-scale farmers achieve food security and adapt to climate change.
• Capture the vast potential of developing-country agriculture to deliver mitigation.
• Target public investments to fill the gaps left by the private sector.
• Address institutional constraints facing female farmers.