The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) has allocated $14 million in de-risking capital from its new private sector financing window to the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), aiming to leverage $200 million in private investment to strengthen food security in low-income countries.
GAFSP delivers financial and technical support including grants, blended concessional finance, advisory services, and technical assistance to projects across the agriculture value chain in the world’s poorest countries.
This first allocation demonstrates the appetite for funders to work together in this new model to solve an age-old challenge of finance for smallholder farmers risk.
The Business Investment Financing Track (BIFT) was launched in 2024 as GAFSP’s second-generation private sector financing window. The program combines GAFSP’s grants and concessional finance with funding from multilateral development banks to mobilize private investment for smallholder farmers, producer groups, agribusinesses, and startups.
The funding will expand access to certified seeds, organic fertilizers, soil enhancers, mechanization, and other inputs that help agribusinesses cope with heat, water scarcity, and other climate challenges. Over 1.5 million smallholder farmers and 500 agro-dealers and cooperatives are expected to benefit.
Agro-Inputs Risk Sharing Facility
The first allocation provides $10 million in de-risking capital to support the creation of an Agro-Inputs Risk Sharing Facility, a $200 million fund managed by the AfDB.
Also read: California Launches $15M AgTech Alliance to Advance Statewide Agricultural Innovation
An additional $4 million will be provided to support technical assistance for small- and medium-sized agricultural companies in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia, as part of the program s designed to catalyse up to $200 million in private-sector lending.
Natasha Hayward, Program Manager at GAFSP, said that by combining donor funds with multilateral and commercial finance, each Program dollar can leverage many times more in private investment, boosting food security and resilience to climate risks.
With the establishment of the Agro-inputs Risk Sharing Facility, we are planting the seeds of a more food-secure Africa
The institution of facility is aimed at incentivizing local banks to extend credit to agro input suppliers. It will be implemented by the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance, a pan-African institution providing political risk and credit insurance to investors. The organisation will provide guarantees to financial institutions, sharing the risk to encourage commercial banks to lend to the agribusinesses sector.
According to GAFSP, the Agro-Inputs Risk Sharing Facility will drive Africa-wide efforts to end hunger, reduce poverty, and enhance resilience to climate pressures. This initial BIFT allocation establishes a scalable model, with future phases set to integrate lessons learned and expand to other low-income countries, unlocking additional large-scale private investment to strengthen food security.
Philip Boahen, African Development Bank Coordinator of the GAFSP emphasized that by targeting agro-input dealers and smallholder farmers, Agro-Inputs Risk Sharing Facility can strengthen the entire value chain, from input supply to market access, building food systems able to withstand market shocks, including and especially environmental pressures.
GAFSP Funding Supports Africa’s Food System Transformation Goals
GAFSP and AfDB are working towards building resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of ending poverty and hunger by 2030.
The funding aligns with broad Africa-based commitments to transform food systems, including the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Kampala Declaration on Accelerating the Implementation of Africa’s Food Systems Transformation.
The CAADP Strategy and Action Plan for 2026–2035 aims to mobilize $100 billion to increase agri-food output by 45%, triple intra-African trade in agricultural goods, and reduce post-harvest losses by 50%, focusing on sustainable food production, agro-industrialization, and trade to transform Africa’s agri-food systems.
The Kampala declaration provides a roadmap for strengthening Africa’s agriculture by enhancing climate resilience, promoting sustainable farming practices, and empowering smallholder farmers through inclusive policies.
The CAADP and Kampala Declaratio aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) to end hunger and achieve food security, SDG 13 (Climate Action) to strengthen resilience to climate-related hazards, and SDG 15 (Life on Land) to promote sustainable land use and combat desertification.