Background

Smallholder agriculture remains central to global food systems, accounting for an estimated 510 million farms (typically under two hectares) and contributing roughly 35% of total food production (Lowder et al., 2021; World Bank, 2025). Despite this, smallholder farmers constitute a disproportionate share of the world’s poorest populations, many living under severe income constraints and facing persistent barriers to productivity.

In regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, agricultural productivity remains significantly below global benchmarks (Gollin et al., 2014; Ritchie, 2022; World Bank, 2025). Yield gaps are compounded by structural constraints, including limited access to credit, insurance, reliable information, and functioning markets. These constraints not only reduce the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies but also limit farmers’ ability to manage risk and sustain long-term investments.

Climate change intensifies these challenges. Increasing frequency of droughts, floods, and temperature variability exposes already vulnerable farming systems to heightened uncertainty. Under such conditions, smallholder households often resort to short-term coping mechanisms (such as reducing consumption or liquidating assets), which further erode their capacity to invest in improved practices (FAO, 2022; World Bank, 2025).

While agricultural technologies (such as improved seeds, irrigation systems, and mechanisation) have demonstrated consistent productivity gains, their adoption remains uneven and often unsustained. Evidence shows that even when uptake increases in the short term, long-term welfare gains are limited without complementary support systems (World Bank, 2025).