The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Tuesday announced it had approved $1.13 billion in mixed financing for 24 fast-track programs to help Africa mitigate rising food prices and inflation caused by the conflict in Ukraine, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds are part of the lender's $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility, established in May to boost food security, nutrition, and resilience across the continent.

According to the AfDB, the facility will provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds and increased access to agricultural fertilizers. It will also support governance and policy reform, which is expected to encourage greater investment in Africa's agricultural sector. In addition, it will also enable African farmers to produce 38 million additional tons of food over the next two years. This is food worth an estimated $12 billion.

"This is a landmark week for the African Development Bank and the African Emergency Food Production Facility," said Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank's Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

"These programs will deliver much-needed climate-adapted seeds, access to affordable fertilizers and usher in policy reforms to enable the agriculture sector to supply immediate, medium and long-term solutions to challenges faced in regional member countries."

Successful implementation of the facility will deliver 38 million tons of food.

The AfDB pointed out that through the facility, African farmers will produce approximately 11 million tons of wheat, 18 million tons of maize, 6 million tons of rice and 2.5 million tons of soybeans.