IFAD report calls for climate finance that rural women can use

Gender equality is the main objective of only about 3% of international public climate finance for agrifood systems, according to a report released at COP31 on 9 November.

The Unfunded Half, published by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Türkiye’s agriculture ministry, calls for financial products designed around the barriers rural women face. IFAD proposes credit that does not require a land title, insurance delivered through women’s groups, and better reporting on access and repayment.

The report estimates the funding with gender equality as its main objective at US$855 million a year. That figure tracks the purpose assigned to the money. The method does not measure how much women ultimately receive.

The calculation combines a 2021–2022 climate-finance base with gender-marker shares from 2018–2019 and expresses the result at July 2026 prices. One share comes from climate-related agricultural aid; the other comes from gender-marked climate aid across sectors. Applying them to the wider agrifood-finance category requires extrapolation beyond those original samples.

The authors acknowledge the limitations and give a sensitivity range of US$500 million to US$1.1 billion. Missing gender data for domestic and private finance also leaves a substantial part of the funding picture unmeasured.

Alongside the report, IFAD announced a US$70 million adaptation bond bought by Japanese agricultural cooperative insurer Zenkyoren. IFAD says the proceeds will support its rural-development investments worldwide.