Start Small, Then Think Big | Food and Agriculture Climate Action Call

The Earth is on the verge of breaching the 1.5°C warming red line. 84% of the world’s coral is experiencing bleaching, in the largest and most severe bleaching event on record. The melting of Arctic permafrost may accelerate the warming process. We are triggering the first climate tipping point.

No one is an island. In 2025 alone, Chinese agriculture has experienced a series of record-breaking extreme weather events. Those written about by Foodthink alone include:

☔️ Six months of drought, six months of flooding: Guangxi farmers mark record-breaking flood lines on their walls;

☀️ A once-in-60-years drought has left farmers in Guanzhong, Shaanxi, anxious about irrigating wheat: “the more grain you grow, the poorer you get”;

⛈️ At 4 a.m., a 400-mu farm in Miyun, Beijing, was engulfed by floodwater;

🌾 With spring drought intensifying, Yunnan farmers begin planting upland rice;

💨 On the eve of harvest, Typhoon Hua Jia Sha dealt a severe blow to cage aquaculture and fruit farming in Yangjiang, Guangdong;

⚡️ Extraordinary disasters have arrived, yet our disaster-response methods are still stuck in the age of “Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs”;

🌽 With unrelenting autumn rain and maize mould, will grain dryers also become a must for northern farmers in the future?

The impact of climate change on every humble meal is not only about how the land and farmers endure high temperatures, drought and waterlogging, and spreading pests. It is also visible in cities: rising vegetable prices, vegetables that have become more astringent, and delivery riders’ feet soaked through and raw—when high temperatures and torrential rain compound the food-delivery wars, how is the risk of consumers getting a hot meal passed on to delivery riders? When extreme weather becomes the norm, does outdoor work become ever more hazardous? Are new risk-sharing mechanisms needed?

Of course, from the land to the table, the impacts of climate change are not all negative. For example, warmer and wetter conditions in the north allow more “southern vegetables” to be “grown in the north”, and a rise in accumulated temperature allows wine-growing regions to expand northward. In a word: the climate has changed, and we must change too. The key is this: as climate patterns increasingly depart from the norm, how can we rebuild resilience and turn crises into opportunities? The answer lies in diverse, local and equitable frontline practices.

This has long been Foodthink’s working philosophy. Since launching the first round of small-scale action grants under the Lianhe Plan in 2019, we have funded 25 partners over three rounds, supporting them to organise projects rooted in the land and in communities, such as technical training in ecological agriculture, food education, farmers’ markets and community seed banks (see the projects selected for Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3). Two further rounds of the Lianhe Plan have supported content production and creative work in the food and agriculture sector.

In September 2025, Foodthink published its research report “Action Pathways for Rural Social Organisations to Respond to Climate Change”, finding that the core of climate resilience lies in empowering the people and communities directly affected by climate change. This empowerment is not just about technological progress; it is also about mobilising the resources, knowledge and experience that communities already possess, and building cooperative relationships grounded in full mutual trust. Moreover, strengthening agricultural resilience requires ensuring the well-being and dignity of producers—that is, farmers.

In recent years, the field of climate change has seen new agricultural concepts emerge one after another: climate-smart agriculture, regenerative agriculture, agrivoltaics, AI + agriculture, zero-carbon villages; low-carbon agriculture has also been written into the 2026 No. 1 Central Document. Yet behind one seemingly perfect label after another, we rarely hear the voices of real people or find concrete methods that frontline farmers can actually use. We hope to explore climate solutions that are rooted in the land, based on real needs, and activate the internal strength of communities.

In view of this, Foodthink is launching the sixth round of small-scale (action) grants under the Lianhe Plan to support local solutions for transforming food and agriculture systems in the context of climate change. Selected applicants will receive grants of 5,000–30,000 yuan, along with communications and professional resource support. For projects that do not receive funding but are already underway or have concrete ideas, we will also provide matching communications resources and channels, help connect them with peers, pioneers and experts, so that these projects can be implemented and seen by more people. Through one case after another with real people at its core, we hope to enrich all sectors’ concrete imagination of the texture of resilience.

Foodthink looks forward to seeing and supporting your action!

 – Eligibility – 

 – Application cycle and method – 

 – Review experts – 

Ling Du | Director, Chengdu Shuguang Community Development Capacity-Building Centre

Fanqiao Meng | Professor, College of Resources and Environment, China Agricultural University; Director, Environmental Impact Assessment Centre, China Agricultural University
Juan Liu | Associate Professor, College of Humanities and Development, China Agricultural University; Research Fellow, Beijing Innovation Centre for Rural Revitalisation and Integrated Urban-Rural Development

Dajun Li | Director of the Sector Development Project, Beijing Heyi Green Public-Interest Foundation

Lingyu Kong | Director of Projects, Foodthink

Partners in Guangdong, please prioritise applications for the “Greater Bay Area Climate Action Small Grant” jointly launched by Guangdong Qianhe Community Public-Interest Foundation and Guangdong Zhushui Yunshan Nature Conservation Foundation. Foodthink will also communicate with the project team to avoid duplicate funding.

Coordinator: Lingyu

Project manager: ZX