Build better agrifood systems - Invest in producer organisations:

Smallholder farmers are central to global food security, rural livelihoods and sustainable food systems. Estimates indicate that 70% of the world’s population depend primarily on small-scale producers for their food. When they come together in producer organisations, they're able to more effectively sell their produce, access services and finance and influence government policy. 

As the 2026 climate negotiations in Bonn start, ActionAid is calling for grant-based climate finance to directly reach producer organisations. 

While most climate finance is currently directed to large and global institutions, direct financing of producer and community-led organisations is more effective and offers better value-for-money.  Strengthening local groups builds their capacity, ensuring they can support their members long after the end of short-term projects. 

This policy brief by ActionAid and allies shares lessons from the innovative Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a multilateral fund that puts smallholder farmers at the core of its approach. Since 2010, GAFSP has allocated $80 million to 32 producer organisation-led projects, strengthening them as critical local institutions, contributing to improved farmer incomes, food security, nutrition and resilience.

[The findings are drawn from participatory reviews conducted by the Civil Society Partnership for GAFSP, a consortium commissioned by GAFSP. The Partnership consists of ActionAid International, the Eastern and Southern Africa Small-Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF), the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (AsiaDHRRA), and Coordination pour des Actions en Santé et en Développement d'Haïti (COSADH).]