The board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a US$11.7mn budgetary allocation to the African Fertiliser Financing Mechanism (AFFM) on 16 May for its 2023 operations
Tuesday’s approval adds up to the US$16.4mn extended to AFFM to support its 2023 budget. It also includes US$4.7mn, which was carried over from the previous year's budget.
The board of directors also validated AFFM's 2023 programme of activities, which include strengthening the fertiliser sector through access to finance, supporting the development of sustainable policy reforms to improve fertiliser production, trade and use, and facilitating access to inputs and technical assistance for smallholder farmers.
AFFM plans to continue implementing three commercial credit guarantee projects amounting to US$8.3mn. The recipient countries include Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana. For 2023, AFFM plans to implement trade credit guarantee schemes totaling US$9.7mn in Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and Kenya. Three more new projects could be launched in Senegal, Zambia, and Ghana if the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) follows through on its US$15mn commitment to the AFFM.
The 2023 projects will be implemented to support the second pillar of the Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility, which was launched to avert a looming food crisis in Africa following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In addition, AFFM will actively work with African countries and other key stakeholders to develop the national food and agriculture pacts that the continent's leaders presented at the Feed Africa Summit in Dakar in January 2023.
The AFFM will facilitate smallholder farmers' access to inputs and extension services through credit guarantee projects and capacity building for farmers and input distributors. Its objectives include ensuring proper use of fertilisers, increasing agricultural productivity and improving soil conditions.
AFFM will continue to work with the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) on initiatives to improve fertiliser production, trade and use launched in 2021. It will also conduct an in-depth analysis of fertiliser policies in at least 10 African countries, which will map the current situation, identify gaps and prepare an action plan. The aim is to support policy orientations that will address the identified shortcomings.
