As food and agricultural commodities demand grows and financial systems still favour chemical inputs, the GEF-funded Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) Programme aims to realign incentives and reshape policies to promote access to finance, new markets and nature-positive solutions that help remove highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) and agricultural plastics from the food value chains. Its work contributes to UNEP’s net-positive agriculture efforts, tackling pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change – the triple planetary crisis.
The FARM Programme Annual Report, launched in 2024, highlights the initiative’s key achievements from the past year and outlines expectations for 2025. In 2024, six countries held their inception meetings, with the Philippines project anticipated to launch in 2025. Over the course of the year, the programme hosted more than 25 stakeholder meetings, workshops, and trainings, engaging over 2,500 participants.
In 2025, programme will focus on scaling successful country-level initiatives, strengthening partnerships and building sustainable systems. Key priorities include intensifying in-person and virtual trainings on pesticide and agricultural plastics reduction, launching the programme website, and rolling out the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework and reporting tools. It will also expand stakeholder engagement efforts, including the launch of the Programme Advisory Group.