Farmers and agro SMEs get
$200 million from World Bank

CDR, Kafalat, and Green Plan will participate

The World Bank said it has approved a $200 million financing to improve the resilience of farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the Green-Agri Food Transformation for Economic Recovery (GATE) project.

The project will allow nearly 80,000 farmers, almost half of the total number of farmers, to benefit from access to finance, capacity building, and improved services and infrastructure.

“The agriculture sector has a key role in unlocking growth, creating jobs and improving livelihoods particularly in rural areas,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Middle East Country Director. He said that the GATE project will provide a lifeline to a large share of vulnerable farmers and agri-food SMEs.

The project, whose total cost is estimated at $210 million, is slated to close at the end of 2028 and will allow nearly 110 municipalities to benefit from improved services and infrastructure. “The project will also preserve livelihood opportunities to more than 22,000 farmers and workers and create around 2,200 new job opportunities through improved production capacity at beneficiary SMEs and through public works/rehabilitation of agriculture related infrastructure,” read a World Bank statement.

The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) will lead the implementation of the project while Kafalat will be in charge of the administration of loans to agri-food SMEs. The Green Plan will execute infrastructure works in coordination with municipalities and unions of municipalities.

“The project will support climate smart investments in agri-food value chains by restoring access to finance for farmers and agri-food SMEs. The project will also support climate smart infrastructure and services for agri-food development in rural areas through the rehabilitation and upgrading of selected irrigation schemes, wastewater and solid waste management facilities, farmer exhibition centers, and through the rehabilitation of rural feeder roads and construction of hill lakes,” the World Bank said.

The GATE project will also support the digitalization of various practices and functions such as agri-censuses and land productivity maps, in addition to strengthening food security and safety management processes and improving agri-food export promotion and marketing systems.

The agri-food sector, which provides livelihoods to approximately 20 percent of the population, has been severely affected by the crises and the global rise in fertilizer and fuel prices.