The World Bank‑hosted Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) has announced $38.75 million in new grant financing to support smallholder farmers across 27 low‑income countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The investment targets some of the world’s most vulnerable farming communities and aims to fortify food security, lift incomes, and help producers withstand escalating climate and economic pressures.
Backing farmer‑led development at scale
GAFSP – a multilateral financing and partnership platform established in 2010 – has already mobilised more than $2.44 billion in donor contributions to strengthen food and nutrition security in 55 low‑income countries. Its latest allocation doubles down on producer organisation‑led investments, placing farmer cooperatives and unions at the centre of food‑system transformation.
A core focus of the new grants is boosting the capacity, financial sustainability and governance of producer organisations, enabling them to scale tested innovations and deliver more reliable services to their members. This means improving everything from aggregation and storage to market access, financial services and climate‑smart technical support.
“Producer organizations 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. “Investing in these organizations will have a compound impact on farmers’ livelihoods, resilience and prospects for the future.”
A landmark push for women farmers
In recognition of the International Year of the Woman Farmer, the new financing round places women at the centre of agricultural transformation. Women farmers – who contribute significantly to production yet remain systemically disadvantaged in accessing land, finance, and markets – will benefit from targeted measures embedded across all projects.
For the first time, regional producer organisations were also eligible to compete for GAFSP financing, enabling stronger cross‑country learning and knowledge transfer along value chains.
Overall, the funding will support 16 producer‑organisation‑led projects (14 national and two regional), directly benefiting an estimated 175,000 smallholder farmers.
Strengthening resilience to climate and economic shocks
The grants aim to equip farmers and cooperatives with tools to withstand intensifying climate volatility, market disruptions and ongoing fragility in local food systems. By strengthening producer organisations, the programme helps farmers secure better prices, access new markets, gain climate‑smart training, and benefit from improved financial and insurance services.
“As a former minister of agriculture, I know first-hand the impact that investments in producer organizations can have not only on smallholder farmers but also on national food security,” said Agnes Kalibata, co-chair of the GAFSP Steering Committee. “These grants will strengthen the institutions that allow smallholders to invest, innovate, and build resilience in the face of multiple shocks.”
Country highlights: From Benin to Sri Lanka to Haiti
A $2.5 million grant to the National Platform of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organizations will support 11,000 young people and women in vegetable and poultry value chains in Benin. The project is expected to indirectly benefit 66,000 more people through agroecology training, improved land tenure and finance access for women, and strengthened governance across 352 producer cooperatives.
Sri Lanka’s Federation of Thrift and Credit Cooperative Societies will receive $2.5 million to support 10,000 smallholder families in Ratnapura, Kegalle, Kurunegala and Puttalam. With a strong gender focus – including 7,500 women and 1,500 youth – the project will expand climate-smart agriculture, strengthen financial and insurance services, build market linkages, and incubate 50 cooperative agribusiness ventures.
In northern Haiti, a $2.49 million grant for the Union of Cocoa Cooperatives will support 2,000 farmers through climate‑resilient cocoa agroforestry training, regeneration of 500 hectares, improved cooperative governance, expanded opportunities for women and youth, and investment in post‑harvest infrastructure and certification to unlock higher‑value markets.
A lifeline for regions facing deepening food crises
In West and Central Africa – where 55 million people are projected to face crisis‑level food insecurity during the June-August 2026 lean season – several projects will reinforce producer organisations grappling with climate shocks, conflict and economic volatility. Strengthening cooperatives and improving market access are seen as central to rebuilding livelihoods and restoring food system stability.
Building the foundations of long‑term resilience
By channelling resources through farmer‑led institutions, the GAFSP producer‑organisation‑focused funding window seeks to break structural barriers that smallholder farmers face in accessing finance, markets and technical support. The approach aims to build stronger, more resilient rural economies, capable of sustaining food security and supporting climate adaptation over the long term.
As climate impacts intensify and development finance pressures mount, the latest GAFSP allocation signals a renewed commitment to equipping smallholder farmers with the institutional strength, tools and market access they need to thrive.
