Banner

Farmers’ Initiative for Resilient and Sustainable Transformations (FIRST)

A CCAC Agriculture Super Pollutant Flagship (2026–2028)

Agriculture is on the frontline of the climate crisis. Farmers are already dealing with hotter days, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent floods and droughts—challenges that directly threaten food production and rural livelihoods.  At the same time, agriculture is a major source of the world’s most powerful “super pollutants”: 40% of global methane, 75% of global nitrous oxide, and 5% of global black carbon emissions come from the sector.

The Farmers’ Initiative for Resilient and Sustainable Transformations (FIRST) is a three-year global flagship (2026–2028) that tackles both challenges at once: it supports farmers and countries in cutting super pollutants from agriculture, while boosting productivity, resilience and food security.

The initiative is part of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s (CCAC) “super pollutants” solutions pipeline — a comprehensive approach that moves from science to identify effective strategies, through policy development to spur action, to on-the-ground implementation delivering climate and air quality benefits. FIRST takes a hands-on, “what’s in it for farmers?” approach, focusing on what the sector itself can do in the near term to:

  • Flatten the projected growth of agricultural super pollutant emissions
  • Unlock new business models for low-emission growth in agriculture
  • Deliver co-benefits for farmers: better yields, healthier soils, cleaner air and more stable incomes
  • The initiative zeroes in on methane, black carbon and nitrous oxide from four key areas: rice, livestock, fertiliser use, and crop residue burning.
What the initiative delivers
  • Solutions for farmers: Better water and soil management in rice, healthier and more productive livestock, and alternatives to residue burning.
  • South–South cooperation: Countries learn from each other through exchanges, study tours and regional collaboration.
  • Scaling innovation: Digital tools, improved practices and CCAC TEAP-identified technologies brought to farms and extension systems.