Helping smallholder farmers mitigate climate change

Key messages

• Smallholder farmers can contribute significantly to climate change mitigation but will need incentives to adapt their practices. - Incentives from selling carbon credits are limited by low returns to farmers, high transaction costs, and the need for farmers to invest in mitigation activities long before they receive payments. - Improved food security, economic benefits and adaptation to climate change are more fundamental incentives that should accompany mitigation. - Designing agricultural investment and policy to provide up-front finance and longer term rewards for mitigation practices will help reach larger numbers of farmers than specialized mitigation interventions.