Uplifting Women Farmers by Adopting Climate-Smart Practices with Climate Finance: Evidence from Central and Eastern States of India
摘要
Climate changeClimate change impacts are acutely felt worldwide, yet womenWomen in agricultureAgriculture-dependent developing nations in the Global SouthGlobal south face disproportionate challenges. Despite their critical role, entrenched socio-cultural barriers often exclude womenWomen from financial decision-making, exacerbating their vulnerabilityVulnerability to climate changeClimate change. This study focuses on improving institutional credit access, fostering market linkages, and enhancing capacity building to promoteClimate-smart agriculture climate-smart agricultureAgriculture (CSA) among smallholder women farmersWomen farmers. By employing remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, we analyzed farm activities over the past three years while accounting for localized climate changeClimate change impacts. This analysis underpins the development of the KhetScore, an analytical farm score that serves as an alternative to traditional credit scores. This innovation addresses the critical credit gap faced by over 85% of Indian smallholder farmers. To empower womenWomen in decision-making and income diversification, tailored financial products, including crop loans, dairy loans, digital gold savings, weather, and health insurance, were introduced through financial institutions. Additionally, we used Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) as platforms for economies of scale, delivering customized crop advisories, climate-smart agri-inputs, weather forecasts, and market connections to women farmersWomen farmers. A survey of 1498 farmers demonstrated significant outcomes: borrowing costs decreased by 20–50%, input costs were reduced by 10%, and price realization improved by 2–5%. These targeted interventions are transforming smallholder agricultureAgriculture, integrating womenWomen into digital ecosystems, and positioning them as central actors in climate change adaptationClimate change adaptation.