|
“Sri Lanka has globally competitive agricultural products and strong entrepreneurial potential. The priority now is to connect farmers and agribusinesses with the finance, technology and markets they need to scale. By aligning public and private investment – from innovative financing to risk-sharing solutions – AgriConnect can unlock capital, strengthen agribusinesses and create more and better jobs,” said Sarvesh Suri, IFC Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific. As the first country in South Asia to officially join AgriConnect, Sri Lanka will help build partnerships between farmers and agribusinesses, and advance agriculture finance, digital agriculture and AgTech, alongside cold chains, connectivity, climate-resilient irrigation, skills and research. The initiative will focus on value chains with strong potential for value addition and exports, including coconut, cinnamon, tea, fisheries, as well as dairy, poultry, aquaculture and horticulture. It will also support greater economic opportunities in lagging regions, including the Northern and Eastern Provinces. AgriConnect will also strengthen coordination among government, development partners and the private sector to tackle policy barriers, address financing constraints and unlock opportunities at scale. “There is a real opportunity to build on the progress already made in Sri Lanka’s rural economy and ensure that investments continue to reach smallholder farmers. Through AgriConnect, we can maintain this momentum and bring together the scale, financing and expertise of all partners to invest in the first mile of food systems. This means translating our shared vision into tangible realities for rural transformation: driving capital into rural areas, generating jobs, and building resilience against future shocks,” said Donal Brown, IFAD Associate Vice-President, Department for Country Operations. AgriConnect implementation has already started through the Integrated Rurban Development and Climate Resilience Project (IRDCRP) financed by the International Development Association (IDA), which connects commercially-viable businesses led by smallholder farmers to better financing and more lucrative markets through productive partnerships. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group focused on the private sector, is complementing these efforts by supporting the competitiveness and export potential of Sri Lanka’s cinnamon and coconut industries and expanding access to finance for agribusinesses through direct investments and financial-sector risk-sharing facilities. About AgriConnect AgriConnect is a World Bank Group initiative to transform farming for 300 million smallholders by 2030. It is supported by partners such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Google and Bayer. About the World Bank Group The World Bank Group has a bold vision: to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. In more than 100 countries, the World Bank Group provides financing, advice, and innovative solutions that improve lives by creating jobs, strengthening economic growth, and confronting the most urgent global challenges. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org. About IFAD The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is the only international financial institution exclusively focused on transforming rural economies. IFAD invests in rural people and their communities, strengthening agri-food value chains and building food security, shared prosperity and stability. Today, IFAD and its partners have nearly US$23 billion invested in ongoing projects that are transforming rural economies. A wide range of photographs and broadcast-quality video content of IFAD’s work in rural communities are available for download from our Digi Hub.
|