By james art The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found that the UK has co-invested in at least 348 projects to support overseas farmers struggling with extreme weather conditions.
The UK invests money alongside other major economies such as Germany and France through the six main multilateral climate funds.
These include the Green Climate Fund, which was established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is considered the largest dedicated multilateral climate fund in the world.
The ECIU analysis found that the projects cover 111 countries, 84 (76%) of which grow food sold on UK supermarket shelves.
One example is Colombia, which grows around a third (30%) of the UK’s bananas – 253 million kilograms worth £169 million in 2023.
Colombia, like other parts of the Amazon basin, has experienced an extreme drought since the middle of last year.
The rise in temperature comes with the increased frequency and intensity of drought, floods, pests and diseases that reduce the quality and yields of bananas.
To help farmers, the UK and other countries have invested through a project under the Green Climate Fund to enable more efficient use of water and the cultivation of varieties more tolerant to climate impacts, the ECIU found.
Meanwhile, Pakistan – which is the second largest supplier of rice to the UK after India, providing 89 million kilograms worth £94 million in 2023. – has been hit by deadly floods, prolonged heat waves and high humidity this year.
These impacts can damage rice plants and encourage pests and diseases such as the Khapra beetle.
The UK is supporting the country’s farmers to grow rice as well as other key export commodities such as wheat, sugar cane and cotton through several projects, including one under the Green Climate Fund, according to the analysis.
The initiatives help build the capacity of farmers by training them in water management, intercropping, mulching, growing heat, drought and salt tolerant crop varieties and integrated pest management (IPM).
Gareth Redmond-King, Head of International Program at ECIU, said: “We live in an interdependent world, with overseas farmers on the front line of climate extremes who make a living by selling us food in the UK.
“These are some of the people who are being supported by investments that the British government is making overseas, along with other major economies such as Germany and France.
“If the impacts of climate change overwhelm them, their livelihoods are at risk and the UK’s food security is at risk.”
He added that while harvests of key UK crops have been affected by wet weather linked to climate change, “backup” imports of key commodities “are also fluctuating amid extreme weather conditions in several supplier countries”.
The analysis focuses on agricultural sustainability projects funded by only the six main multilateral climate funds: Climate Investment Funds (CIF), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund (AF) and Global Environment Facility (GEF), which hosts the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF).
Although not included in this analysis, the UK has also contributed to the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is not strictly a climate fund but has a climate program called Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture (ASAP).
It works in more than 50 countries and has helped more than eight million smallholder farmers vulnerable to climate change.
The country also gives bilateral funds to organizations, so the total number of agricultural sustainability projects it invests in is likely higher than the analysis shows, ECIU said.