Financial boost for Africa smallholder farmers

by MTHULISI SIBANDA 
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SMALLHOLDER farmers in low-income countries across Africa are to benefit from US$38,75 million in new grant funding.

This is aimed at strengthening food security, improving farmer incomes and building resilience to climate and economic shocks.
The farmers will benefit alongside those in Asia and the Americas.

The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) has announced the funding.

GAFSP is a multilateral financing and partnership platform that supports beneficiary-led investments to improve food and nutrition security in low-income countries.

Since 2010, GAFSP has mobilised more than $2,44 billion in donor contributions, providing financial and technical support to agri-food sector projects in 55 low-income countries.

The new allocation will support 16 producer organisation-led projects — 14 national and two regional projects — and is expected to directly benefit an estimated 175 000 smallholder farmers through investments that strengthen farmer institutions.

“Producer organisations unite the many millions of people working across the agrifood sector to ensure small producers can seize new economic opportunities,” said Shobha Shetty, GAFSP Program Head.

The official said they helped smallholder farmers pool their harvests to negotiate better prices and they provided essential resources for their members.

“Investing in these organisations will have a compound impact on farmers’ livelihoods, resilience and prospects for the future,” Shetty said.

Several projects will support producer organisations in West and Central Africa, where climate shocks, conflict and economic volatility continue to strain food systems, with 55 million people projected to face crisis-level food insecurity during the June to August 2026 lean season.

– CAJ News