• The fund will make it easier for smallholder farmers to acquire inputs and extension services.

The African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) will receive $11.7 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) board for operations in 2023.

The Facility will receive an additional $16.4 million thanks to the decision, which will increase its 2023 budget. However, the AFDB statement notes that it also includes $4.7 million that was carried over from the prior year.

Through loan guarantee initiatives and capacity building for farmers and input distributors, AFFM will make it easier for smallholder farmers to acquire inputs and extension services in order to boost agricultural productivity and improve soil conditions. The statement also reveals AFFM’s goals for 2023, which include implementing trade credit guarantee programs worth $9.7 million in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique.

However, if the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) honors its $15 million promise to it, three further new initiatives might be started in Senegal, Zambia, and Ghana, according to the announcement.

The national food and agriculture pacts that the leaders of the continent will deliver at the Feed Africa Summit in Dakar in January 2023 will be actively developed by AFFM in collaboration with African nations and other important stakeholders.

The African Union founded the African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) in Abuja in 2006. This organization is renowned for its vital work in resolving food crises and different risks to food security brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change, conflict, locust infestation, and illness.

The AFDB’s annual meetings in 2023 will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh from May 22 to May 26, and they are noteworthy because they will focus on cutting-edge strategies to increase private sector financing for climate action on the African continent.