The Small Farmers Climate Adaptation Fund (SMAF), managed by Add-Value, has joined the Initiative 20X20 as a financial partner. The Initiative 20×20 is a country-led effort seeking to change the dynamics of land degradation in Latin America and the Caribbean by bringing 20 million hectares of land into restoration by 2020 and 50 million hectares by 2030. Financial partners of Initiative 20×20, including impact investors and private companies, act as agents of change in the region by supporting innovative projects that offer social and environmental improvements with financial returns. This group is supporting the expansion of restoration across Latin America and the Caribbean by tapping into the market value of restoration products. The initiative is supported by more than 70 technical organizations and institutions and a coalition of impact investors and private funds deploying US$2.5 billion in private investment. https://initiative20x20.org/partners/small-farmers-climate-adaptation-fund-smaf

Add-Value joined forces with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (the Alliance), to conduct a climate change technical assessment of a group of smallholder farmers in four Latin American countries. The study was sponsored by the International Climate Finance Accelerator Luxembourg (ICFA), as part of its support to Add-Value and the Small Farmers Climate Adaptation Fund (SMAF).

June 2019. Add-Value is one of the four award-winning impact fund managers selected as part of the Spring 2019 Cohort (https://www.icfa.lu/2019-spring-cohort/) by the International Climate Finance Accelerator (ICFA), a Luxembourg based Public Private Partnership sponsored by the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Sustainable Development, as well as nine private entities including: Arendt & Madernach, Deloitte, Elvinger Hoss Prussen,EY, Innpact, Investing for Development, KPMG, LuxFLAG, and PWC. The ICFA initiative has also received the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The ICFA is designed to support innovative investment fund managers who have a strong focus on innovative climate finance investment strategies that fight climate change, as well as provide high environmental and social impact. More information on the ICFA is available at: https://www.icfa.lu/

December 2019. With the financial support from the ICFA Luxembourg, Add-Value and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), joined efforts in performing a Climate Adaptation Technical Assessment and Market Validation of a Group of MFIs and Their Smallholder Farmer Clients in the following countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Ecuador. The field work will be carried out in the months of January and February 2020, and it will include visits to four rural MFIs active in agriculture lending and an estimate of 48 smallholder farmers clients. The study will be completed in May 2020, and it will be crucial in building the SMAF´s support to participant MFIs and designing the scope of the SMAF´s technical support facility.

January 2020. Add-Value and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) traveled to AMC in San Miguel, El Salvador, and together with the institution´s field staff visited smallholder farmers clients located in San Francisco Gotera, San Vicente, Zacatecoluca, and Usulután. Field visits and interviews were conducted with smallholder farmers producing jocote, loroco, maize, jicama, tomato, bell pepper, as well as cattle (both milk and meat), to analyze the incidence of climate change in their productive activities and consider potential adaptation measures that can help them build resilience and overcome the effects of climate change. This effort is part of the development of the Small Farmers Climate Adaptation Fund (SMAF), an impact fund that aims at introducing climate adaptation measures for smallholder farmers through a group of MFIs in Latin America.

January 2020. Add-Value and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) traveled to CREDIGUATE in Totonicapán, Guatemala, and together with the institution´s field staff visited smallholder farmers clients located in San Antonio Suchitepequez, San Marcos, Quiché, and Sololá. Field visits and interviews were conducted with smallholder farmers producing coffee, tomato, peas, chives, apples, plums, peaches, as well as cattle (milk) and poultry (laying hens), to analyze the incidence of climate change in their productive activities and consider potential adaptation measures that can help them build resilience and overcome the effects of climate change. This effort is part of the development of the Small Farmers Climate Adaptation Fund (SMAF), an impact fund that aims at introducing climate adaptation measures for smallholder farmers through a group of MFIs in Latin America.

February 2020. Add-Value and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) traveled to COAC 4 de Octubre in Riobamba Ecuador, and together with the institution´s field staff visited smallholder farmer clients located in Riobamba, Cajabamba, Penipe, and Quimiag. Field visits and interviews were done with smallholder farmers producing tomato, broccoli, quinoa, potato, strawberry, maize, and cattle (milk), to assess the incidence of climate change in their productive activities and consider potential adaptation measures that can help them build resilience and mitigate the effects of climate change. This effort is part of the development of the Small Farmers Climate Adaptation Fund (SMAF), an impact fund that aims at introducing climate adaptation measures for smallholder farmers through a group of MFIs in Latin America.

February 2020. Add-Value and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) traveled to ODEF Financiera in Honduras and, together with ODEF´s field staff visited smallholder farmer clients located in Cofradía, La Flecha, Santa Cruz de Yojoa, and Peña Blanca. Field visits and interviews were done with smallholder farmers producing coffee, squash, eggplant, malanga, cassava, pineapple, cocoa, as well as cattle (milk), to find out about the incidence of climate change in their productive activities and evaluate potential adaptation measures that can help them build resilience and overcome the effects of climate change. This technical work is being incorporated in the Small Farmers Climate Adaptation Fund (SMAF), an impact fund that aims at introducing climate adaptation measures for smallholder farmers through a group of MFIs in Latin America.