Private sector told to lead climate resilience efforts
Private practitioners in the agriculture sector should be at the forefront of championing climate adaptation, besides building the resilience of rural smallholder farmers, experts have said.
The experts at the ongoing Cop25 talks in Madrid, Spain, said following extreme weather events that have caused massive disruptions to smallholder farmers, farming communities need financial support and new technologies to adapt to the change.
The private sector was urged to provide financial and technological support as conventional lending institutions become too reluctant to support farmers due to increased risks.
Luc Gnacadja, a former minister for the environment in Benin and the president of the governance and policies for sustainable development think-thank (GPS-Dev), explained that climate adaptation includes new solutions that make investments stand extreme weather events.
By pushing the public sector to invest in climate adaptation strategies such as proper road network and bridges, the private sector ensures that not only are their investments safe, but their farmers as well.
