“By catalyzing innovation in climate-smart agriculture, we can reduce harmful emissions and sequester carbon in the sector, sustainably increase productivity to feed a growing global population, and support farmers on the frontlines in building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate change.”

— H.E. Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment

“The climate crisis threatens to disrupt food systems around the globe, exacerbate food insecurity and negatively impact farmers’ livelihoods. We must invest in innovative, science-based solutions to help agriculture mitigate and adapt to climate change – and that’s what AIM for Climate is all about.”

— Thomas J. Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate

Working to enable solutions at the intersection of agriculture and climate

About AIM for Climate

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate / AIM4C) is a joint initiative by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. AIM for Climate seeks to address climate change and global hunger by uniting participants to significantly increase investment in, and other support for, climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation over five years (2021 – 2025).

Share insights and collaborate on innovations for climate-smart agriculture on the Innovation Hub.

As climate change continues to impact global temperature, weather and seasonality, longstanding agricultural practices are undermined, throwing many farmers into poverty. Subsequently, the world’s rapidly growing population is ever more reliant on increasingly vulnerable food production. The sector must urgently adapt. New technologies, products, and approaches are required to mitigate and adapt to climate change while supporting growth and jobs.

Raising global ambition and driving more rapid and transformative climate action in all countries – including by enabling science-based and data-driven decision and policy-making – will be key. In this way, AIM for Climate will help create a surge of solutions and together we can enable a quantum leap in agricultural innovation, empowering agriculture to be part of the solution to address the climate crisis and create co-benefits of climate action.

Diversity, gender equity, and inclusion are critical to the success of the mission. AIM for Climate recognizes the wide range of participants necessary to achieve its goal and seeks to draw on diverse knowledge, experiences, and cultures.

Participation in AIM for Climate is voluntary.

AIM for Climate – a global initiative to encourage investments in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to accelerate climate action.

What are we AIMing for?

Objectives

AIM for Climate will work to:

Demonstrate collective commitment to significantly increase investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over five years (2021-2025).
Support frameworks and structures to enable technical discussions and the promotion of expertise, knowledge, and priorities across international and national levels of innovation to amplify the impact of participants’ investments.
Establish appropriate structures for exchanges between Ministers and chief scientists, and other appropriate stakeholders, as key focal points and champions for cooperation on climate-related agricultural innovation, to engender greater co-creation and cooperation on shared research priorities between countries.

Scope

AIM for Climate focuses on increasing and accelerating investment in, and/or other support for, climate-smart agricultural innovation in the areas of:

Scientific breakthroughs via basic agricultural research through national-level government and academic research institutions.
Public and private applied research, including through support to international research centers, institutions, and laboratory networks.
Development, demonstration, and deployment of practical, actionable, and innovative products, services, and knowledge to producers and other market participants, including through national agricultural research extension systems.

AIM for Climate’s Terms of Reference

Innovation Sprints

An innovation sprint is an increase in aggregate self-financed investment from non-government partners to achieve an outcome/output in agriculture innovation and for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and food systems to be completed in an expedited timeframe.

Innovation Sprints should support CSA innovation by increasing agriculture productivity while adapting and building resilience to climate change and/or reducing/removing greenhouse gas emissions. Components of innovation sprints may include, inter alia: increasing agricultural productivity; adapting and building resilience and/or reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions.

Get Involved

There are three avenues for participation in the AIM for Climate coalition:

Government Partner
Innovation Sprint Partner
Knowledge Partner

Government Partner:

Government participants who announce an increase in aggregate public investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over the next five years (2021-2025). Responsibility, control, and oversight of investments will remain with the participant. Government partners also support the objectives of AIM for Climate and intend to participate in its activities.

Government Partner Framework Document

Innovation Sprint Partner:

Non-government participants who announce an increase in aggregate self-financed investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over the next five years (2021-2025) to enable investment for bold ideas to foster innovation in an expedited timeframe. Innovation Sprint Partners are encouraged to facilitate innovation challenges with participation by other AIM for Climate participants, including governments. Responsibility, control, and oversight of investments will remain with the participant unless the participant determines otherwise. Announced new investments should avoid double counting (e.g., double counting of the same investments by government and innovation sprint partners).

Kindly only submit your request to become an Innovation Sprint Partner if you have already submitted an innovation sprint proposal and have been notified of its acceptance.

Innovation Sprint Partner Framework Document

Knowledge Partner:

Non-government participants, such as private research, education and extension institutions and international organizations, companies, or other NGOs who support the objectives of AIM for Climate, intend to participate in its activities, and announce an intent to amplify agricultural innovation through: insight sharing, innovation collaboration, coordination, demonstration and deployment.

Insight Sharing:

Share best practices to increase the equitable diffusion of – and positive returns to – agricultural innovation efforts focused on adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Innovation Collaboration:

Launch flexible, inclusive, and targeted innovation collaboration focused on specific innovation areas, guided by the values of openness, transparency, reciprocity, and merit-based competition.
Institutional Capacity Building:

Collaborate to increase mutual and equitable capacity for agricultural innovation focused on climate change, including efforts to enhance the efficacy and resourcing of existing innovation institutions.
Coordination:

Facilitate sharing of information and partnerships among national-level government agricultural innovation and academic research institutions; international research centers, institutions, and laboratory networks; and national agricultural research extension systems.
Demonstration and Deployment:

Support efforts for innovations generated or promoted through AIM for Climate activities to be effectively, efficiently, and expeditiously demonstrated and/or deployed to reach farmers, food producers, and others, particularly in climate-vulnerable countries.