Only 3% of public agrifood climate finance prioritises gender equality, IFAD says

Tuesday 10th November 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

About 3% of international public climate finance for agrifood systems makes gender equality its main objective, according to a report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Türkiye’s agriculture ministry. The two institutions released the report at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya on 9 November.

The authors estimated $855 million a year, expressed in July 2026 prices. They applied OECD gender markers from 2018–2019 to an estimate of agrifood climate finance in 2021–2022. The calculation describes funders’ stated aims and does not measure how much reached women.

The report also estimates that, across 24 low- and middle-income countries, rural households headed by women lose a combined $53 billion more each year to heat and floods than rural households headed by men. That figure is an estimate for the countries studied. The report points to gaps in access to land, productive assets and financial services that can make it harder for women to prepare for and recover from extreme weather.

Some proposed changes address the terms on which finance is offered. The authors examine credit that does not require a land title, guarantees that share a lender’s risk and insurance distributed through women’s groups. They also call for better records on who gains access to credit and how borrowers repay, so lenders can assess risk using evidence.

The report cites the $200 million Africa Rural Climate Adaptation Finance Mechanism as an example of sharing lending risk. The facility covers Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda and sets a target of 50% women among participants. The target is a programme goal.

IFAD separately announced a $70 million rural adaptation bond at the conference. The private placement raises capital for IFAD’s lending under its gender targets. The amount refers to funds raised through the bond, with lending and disbursement handled through the fund’s operations.

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