An encouraging development is underway in Brazil’s Bahia region. In this area, where forests were historically cleared to establish full-sun cocoa plantations, this segment of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest—an ecosystem recognized as one of the planet’s richest yet most endangered—is now witnessing a quiet transformation in agriculture.
Farmers are reintroducing cabruca, a traditional farming method where cocoa trees thrive beneath a canopy of native plant species. This revival of shade-grown cocoa cultivation is leading to enhanced biodiversity, the restoration of degraded land, and the reconnection of fragmented forest areas. The initiative aims to assist 3,000 cocoa farmers and rehabilitate or enhance almost 1.85 million hectares of cabruca systems, thereby preventing an estimated 3.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions.
This approach effectively merges traditional practices with modern innovation and has demonstrated success in other regions. In Côte d’Ivoire, a comparable effort to foster deforestation-free cocoa production has enabled farmers to transition from full-sun to shade-grown methods, boosting both yields and incomes while simultaneously restoring degraded landscapes.
Since its inception in 2022, this project—funded by the Green Climate Fund and executed by the Food and Agriculture Organization in collaboration with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire—has 3,577 individuals, restored or maintained over 700 hectares of forest, and converted nearly 3,448 hectares of conventional cocoa plots into agroforestry systems.
The outcomes are clear: superior cocoa beans, healthier forests, and more robust communities. Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate that empowering farmers to collaborate with nature can transform a legacy of deforestation into a future defined by regeneration.
This exemplifies effective climate investment: supporting farmer prosperity, preserving forests, and simultaneously reducing emissions.
Agriculture possesses some of the greatest untapped potential for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement, yet it consistently suffers from insufficient funding. In 2023, the combined sectors of forestry, livestock, fisheries, and crop production received merely 4 percent of the total climate-related development finance, according to an upcoming FAO analysis. For a sector so crucial to mitigating emissions, preventing hunger, and safeguarding communities from climatic extremes, the disparity between its potential and the investment it receives is astonishing.
Persistently overlooking agrifood systems is not only unjust but also represents a missed opportunity to build resilience, mitigate climate change, and ensure a more secure, sustainable future for the approximately whose livelihoods depend on these systems.
Last year, at COP29 in Baku, nations committed to a new target: for developing countries, as part of a broader ambition to increase total climate finance to . However, unless a significant portion of that funding is directed toward food and agricultural systems, the world will fail to achieve both its climate and food security objectives.
As nations prepare to convene for COP30 in the Amazon’s heart, forests offer a natural starting point. They are not merely casualties of climate change but represent one of our most potent solutions—provided sufficient investment is made. Brazil is already demonstrating leadership through its new , which compensates countries for maintaining their forests. The Brazilian government has to launch this fund at COP30.
While global deforestation has decreased over the past three decades, the world continues to lose over 4 million hectares of forest annually, as reported by FAO’s latest —a rate too high to meet climate and biodiversity targets.
Preventing the increasing incidence of forest fires is an essential initial step. However, keeping forests intact extends beyond this. It involves restoring degraded land and assisting forest-dependent communities in establishing sustainable livelihoods. The most effective defense against deforestation is to render the land surrounding forests productive and profitable by offering farmers viable alternatives to felling trees. Every dollar invested in this type of agriculture yields multiple benefits: reduced emissions, enhanced food security, and stronger rural economies.
What applies to forests also holds true for all food and agriculture: When we invest in agrifood solutions that empower farmers, everyone benefits—people, the planet, and the climate. Nevertheless, small-scale farmers, who produce one-third of the world’s food, still receive only a minuscule fraction of global climate finance. Unlocking their potential represents one of the most intelligent and rapid approaches to adapt to climate change, reduce emissions, and feed a growing global population.
Restoring degraded land offers comparable returns. In Mongolia’s eastern steppes, an initiative implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is assisting farmers in revitalizing over 11,000 hectares of cropland through practices like no-till farming and intercropping—thereby restoring productivity while safeguarding ecosystems. Approximately of pasturelands are being rested and allowed to recover from overgrazing, while herding communities are transforming shorn cashmere into sustainable fiber for luxury markets. Healthier soils and new income opportunities are boosting the earnings for tens of thousands of farmers and herders, concurrently cutting an estimated six million tons of carbon emissions.
We understand that investing in more resilient food systems is effective. The challenge lies in scaling these efforts. Too often, food and agriculture are perceived as high-risk and low-return, a misconception we are capable of correcting. More sophisticated, detailed monitoring systems can help channel funding directly to small farms, granting them access to the emerging global carbon market. Concurrently, countries require support to develop Paris-aligned, investment-ready pipelines that direct climate finance to where it is most critically needed. With improved data, clearer incentives, and more robust policy frameworks, we can ensure that climate finance ultimately reaches those working closest to the land, thereby unleashing the full potential of food and agriculture to drive climate progress.
Climate finance directed towards agriculture provides triple benefits for mitigation, adaptation, and food security. However, when this sector is neglected, the world foregoes its prime opportunity for lasting transformation.
COP30 must be the pivotal moment when food systems transition from being peripheral to central in climate action. As the cocoa farmers of Bahia are demonstrating, supporting those who cultivate the land is the most reliable path to securing the planet’s future.