Stop financing industrial livestock production, coalition urges AfDB

Groups under the auspices of the Stop Financing Factory Farming Coalition have urged the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to stop financing industrial livestock production models linked to environmentally destructive land conversion and unsustainable water use.

The civil society organizations, however, asked AfDB to invest in agroecological and climate-resilient farming systems by prioritising support for smallholder farmers, women producers, pastoralists, Indigenous peoples, and local communities.

The coalition also sought to improve transparency and accountability in agricultural lending portfolios and value chain investments.

It noted that investing in industrial livestock production could deepen environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, water stress, and rural inequality across Africa.

The groups made the call as African leaders gathered in Brazzaville for the African Development Bank Annual Meetings 2026, where discussions on agricultural financing and food systems transformation are expected to feature prominently.

The Policy and Campaign Coordinator of the Stop Financing Factory Farming Coalition, Opeyemi Elujulo, said the debate is not simply about agricultural growth, but about what kinds of food systems are being shaped and locked in through public development finance.

“The financing decisions made now will influence whether Africa’s food future is centred on resilient local food systems, biodiversity protection, sustainable water use, and community wellbeing, or increasingly concentrated industrial models that deepen environmental and economic vulnerabilities,” the Coalition said.

The group argued that development finance decisions made in the present time would shape Africa’s agricultural systems, land use patterns, and rural economies for decades, making it critical for the AfDB to prioritise sustainable and community-centred food systems.

The African Development Bank’s flagship Feed Africa strategy estimates that transforming African agriculture will require between US$315 billion and US$400 billion in investments over ten years. The Bank itself has committed US$24 billion to mobilise additional public and private sector financing.

The strategy promotes large-scale agricultural transformation through value chain development, agro-industrialisation, including livestock agriculture, private sector expansion, and blended finance mechanisms designed to attract further investment.

Recent AfDB-backed initiatives such as Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones and co-financing arrangements with international financial institutions indicate that agricultural lending and blended finance programmes are expected to expand significantly in the coming years.

The Executive Director of Food Justice Network, Roselilly Ushewokunze, noted that development finance decisions made today shape agricultural systems, land use, and rural economies across the continent for decades,” said Roselilly Ushewokunze, Executive Director of Food Justice Network.

“Agricultural finance must therefore be designed to scale food systems that strengthen food sovereignty, climate resilience, biodiversity, and community wellbeing while supporting locally rooted and sustainable food systems,” she added.

The coalition argued that industrial agricultural expansion, particularly factory farming and industrial livestock production, has been globally associated with rising water consumption, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and animal welfare concerns.

They also expressed concerns over growing antimicrobial use in industrial livestock systems. Studies conducted across 13 to 27 African countries between 2015 and 2019 estimated antimicrobial consumption on the continent at between 3,558 and 4,279 tonnes. The coalition warned that continued expansion of industrial livestock agriculture could accelerate antimicrobial usage and associated public health risks.

“Harmful impacts can emerge indirectly through investment strategies that prioritise rapid production growth, export competitiveness, vertical integration, and economies of scale without fully accounting for environmental sustainability, public health, animal welfare, water use, biodiversity protection, or impacts on smallholder livelihoods,” said Salome Kahiu.

The organisations stressed that the urgency of reform is increasing as Africa faces worsening climate shocks, food insecurity, debt pressures, biodiversity decline, and growing water stress.

They argued that the central issue is not only the amount of agricultural finance being mobilised, but also the type of food systems such financing is designed to support.