On 14 January 2026, AgriCord took part in a Networking Lunch and Dialogue in Berlin on “Smarter Finance for Smallholders, Nature and Climate”, held ahead of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA). The exchange was organised by CompensACTION Secretariat (GIZ) and Clim-Eat. It brought together policy, research, farmers organisations and private sector actors to discuss how financing can better support food systems transformation at the intersection of food, climate and water.
Why this debate matters for farmer's organisations
AgriCord’s presence in Berlin positioned the organisation and its farmer’s organisations partners at the center of an increasingly strategic debate: how to recognise and reward farmers for the ecosystem services they deliver, while safeguarding food security and livelihoods. Throughout the discussion, participants stressed that innovative finance is not only technical but also political, because it shapes who carries risk, who receives support, and who benefits. Public finance was repeatedly described as essential for financing public goods and enabling scale, while private finance can complement these efforts when governance conditions are aligned.
“Farmers need to be in the kitchen when things are cooked, not only when the meal is served.”
Katja Vuori, CEO, AgriCord
Katja Vuori’s key message: co-design with farmers
AgriCord’s contribution, led by CEO Katja Vuori, consistently brought the conversation back to implementation realities. Her core message was that mechanisms such as Payments for Ecosystem Services only work when they are farmer-centred, adapted to local contexts, and designed with farmers and their organisations from the start. As she put it: “Farmers need to be in the kitchen when things are cooked, not only when the meal is served.” This highlights the shift needed from one-off consultation toward real co-design, shared ownership and meaningful participation of farmer organisations in governance and steering.
Practical priorities: peer learning, agroecology, fair compensation
Katja also underlined practical levers for success: peer-to-peer learning, because farmers often learn most effectively from other farmers; a focus on agroecology and soil health; and above all, fair, reliable and predictable compensation. She noted that labels and certification are often less decisive for smallholders than whether incentive mechanisms are accessible, credible and deliver tangible value. Participatory Guarantee Systems were discussed as a pragmatic alternative to costly certification models in smallholder contexts.
What AgriCord takes forward
For AgriCord, the takeaway is clear: if incentive schemes are to deliver for nature and climate, they must deliver for farmers first through food security at the centre, fair compensation, and governance models where farmer organisations help design and steer the solutions shaping their future.
