‘Finance sustainable farming for addressing climate change’

Bathinda: The

CFA Institute

, a global association of investment professionals, has asked Indian banks, venture capital investors, multilateral development institutions, and policymakers to catalyse private capital for sustainable agriculture.

Farming, which is a source of livelihood for about 58% of India’s population and which contributes to

global food security

, is vulnerable to climate change, says the institute’s report prepared in partnership with Climate Bonds Initiative. The institute organised a webinar on ‘financing sustainable agriculture in India, with

Climate Bonds Initiative

India project manager Sandeep Bhattacharya and

Capital Markets Policy India

director Sivananth Ramachandran presenting the findings.

CFA Institute country head Vidhu Shekhar said: "The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow highlighted the need of making farming more sustainable and less polluting. India runs National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) to evolve and implement strategies for making the country’s agriculture more resilient to the changing climate. However, to transition to more sustainable practices, the farmers will need better policy, technology, and access to capital."

The report makes four recommendations to the policymakers and stakeholders. It asks them to scale up the financing of sustainable agriculture projects, develop a taxonomy for sustainable agriculture, address training and capacity needs of the stakeholders, and provide state government support to basic research in climate-resilient agriculture, which includes leveraging data and technology.

"The frequency and intensity of heavy downpours, hurricanes, and heat waves in unusual places has made it necessary not only to limit the carbon emissions but also adapt to changes that are likely to worsen in the future. Agricultural yield and the nutritional content of grains is also vulnerable," said Sivananth Ramachandran. The report explores the agriculture, forestry, and land use (AFOLU) landscape in India.