Blog Scaling financial and information services for smallholder adaptation: Project launch in Zambia

Across Zambia, smallholder farmers face increasing challenges from climate variability erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and shifting seasons that threaten yields and livelihoods. The 2023/24 drought, one of the most severe in recent decades, devastated harvests across Zambia’s Southern and Eastern Provinces, underscoring the urgent need for climate-informed agricultural and financial solutions. This 24-month GEF Challenge Project responds directly to these challenges. Building on the Alliance’s experience in digital agriculture, climate services, and risk management and through collaboration with national and international partners the project will co-design gender-responsive financial and advisory products tailored to diverse farmer needs. 

The project is structured around four interconnected pillars: 

• Inform – Using farmer-generated data to improve the dissemination of climate, weather, and market intelligence
• Bundle – Delivering integrated financial and agro-advisory services, including gender-responsive insurance and risk-contingent credit
• Stimulate – Expanding the supply and adoption of risk management tools by working with financial institutions and insurers
• Learn – Capturing and sharing lessons to inform similar efforts and strengthen policy frameworks for scaling. 

The project aligns with GEF’s Climate Change focal area and supports Zambia’s National Agriculture Policy, along with key government programs such as the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and the Sustainable Agricultural and Agroforestry Programme (SAAF). These initiatives promote inclusive access to finance and the adoption of climate-smart farming practices. 

At the launch, Majambo Gamoyo from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT presented the project’s theory of change, emphasizing that “co-designed financial and advisory bundles can transform how risk management services are delivered.” He outlined how the project aims to reach 100,000 smallholder farmers in Zambia and a similar number in Uganda by integrating financial innovation, climate information, and digital advisory systems into a single, farmer-centered delivery model. Over its two-year implementation period, the project will pilot these bundled services through participatory co-design and gamified engagement tools, empowering farmers to shape the solutions that work best for them. These interventions are expected to enhance farmers’ decision-making, reduce their vulnerability to climate shocks, and build an evidence base for scaling climate-smart financial systems. 

Ms. Yuka Irie, representing the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to the project and to the GEF’s goal of driving innovation in delivering bundled climate information services, agricultural inputs, and financial products. She noted that these efforts will focus on female smallholder farmers, helping close gender gaps in access to climate services and finance, and positioning women at the center of community adaptation efforts.