Family farmers are of paramount importance to the sustainability of local product supply. Small and medium farmers supply a significant share of agricultural and forestry products globally (80% of cocoa; 60% of coffee; 70% of milk). They also help to guarantee food (bio)diversity, which contributes to healthier and more sustainable nutrition.

However, they are at risk of losing productivity, especially in developing countries, because of three main factors: (i) climate change, (ii) public policies that have not been able to support them properly; and (iii) little technical assistance and investment to decarbonize and adapt agricultural supply. The global food sector is worth $7 trillion per year. Including other nature-based products like timber/construction material, textiles, and pharmaceutical products, family farmers operate in an almost $30 trillion market, representing 25% of global GDP. Consequently, it’s clear how global agricultural supply is at risk of serious impact if mitigation and climate resilience strategies are not adopted at scale by these farmers.

The MAIS Program involves analyzing climate data (meteorological stations; informal reports; farmer interviews) to understand ongoing trends. Adapta then designs a comprehensive solution, drawing from a portfolio of technologies and practices that address specific, critical climate risks identified through their analysis. Adapta then helps farmers to adopt these solutions through its suite of services, which includes implementing technologies and practices, accelerating their uptake through financial products, and assessing progress and impact through its monitoring and evaluation platform.

Adapta seeks to scale its solution across different supply chains, biomes and geographies, beginning with Brazil, then other countries Latin America and Africa – specifically by:

• improving digital tools for monitoring and evaluation (e.g., incorporate supply chain traceability, BI for farm management, productivity and production oscillations, streamlining impact and climate resilience measurements);
• capitalizing financing vehicle FINMAIS to finance the farmers engaged in Adapta’s programs, in order to enhance farming practices while expediting their income generation, thereby also reducing credit risk;
• enhancing technical training capabilities with staff experienced in agroforestry, regenerative agriculture in different pivot crops (e.g., cocoa, coffee, grains, coconuts, cotton and vegetal fibers) and growing existing expertise in milk, lamb, fruits, and vegetables;
• finetuning MAIS solution in other biomes, such as tropical forests, waterlands, pampa, etc