WASHINGTON — On Nov. 12, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced an additional $300 million toward climate-smart agricultural projects, bringing total investment to $3.1 billion. The more than 65 additional projects will focus on small and underserved producers and methods for monitoring, reporting and verifying the benefits of climate-smart projects.

“Small and underserved producers are at the frontlines of the worst impacts of climate change around the world,” Vilsack said. “At the same time, there is enormous and growing market demand for agricultural goods that are produced in a sustainable, climate-smart way. Our goal is to expand markets for climate-smart commodities and make sure that small and underserved producers reap the benefits of these market opportunities.”

The announcement came as the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) wrapped up. Through the international COP27 platform, Vilsack showcased the work of Climate-Smart Commodities, including the recent investment in 70 pilot projects from the first round of funding.

In addition, the US Department of Agriculture is establishing an International Climate Hub, which will develop region-specific technologies to help inform climate-smart decisions, especially for countries most vulnerable to climate change.

“As USDA and our partners worldwide invest in new programs and innovations around climate, we recognize that sharing information — on successes, challenges and approaches — can have broad global benefits,” Vilsack said. “A sustained commitment to learning and action among the international community will be critical to accelerating the uptake of proven climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices.”

The United States will host the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Summit May 8-10, 2023, in Washington, DC. The conference brings together private- and public-sector partners from across the world to collaborate on climate-smart innovations.