One billion dollars a day by 2030: that is the amount that would need to be raised to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land and meet the targets of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This figure was at the heart of the round table on financing, held as part of the Désertif’actions summit on 26 March in Djerba. For behind this staggering figure lies another daunting challenge: the difficulty of channelling the money ‘to the right places’, where it will be effective.
Within the French Development Agency (AFD), combating drought has long been a strategic priority. This is reflected in the commitment to developing “diversified agriculture, healthy soils capable of storing water, investment in storage infrastructure, more water-efficient farming practices, and the reuse of wastewater”, explained Sandra Rulière, deputy head of the institution’s agriculture, rural development and biodiversity division, on 26 March during the round table organised at the Désertif’actions summit in Djerba. All of this is being implemented through the allocation of between €600 million and €1 billion per year to support agroecological transitions — in the plural, she insists, “because the agroecological transition must be pragmatic and tailored to the context”.
Aujourd’hui, l’AFD estime que deux tiers des financements formels de l’agriculture viennent des institutions financières, des banques publiques agricoles. En Afrique, les fonds publics fournissent même près de 80 % des ressources pour la résilience. Mais cela ne suffit pas : il faudrait l’appui du secteur privé car beaucoup d’agriculteurs et d’éleveurs déclarent ne pas accéder au crédit. Mais les investisseurs privés ne veulent pas prendre le risque de financer l’agriculture ou l’économie africaine. Ce qui a de lourdes conséquences : « Aujourd’hui, si les pays africains veulent aller sur les marchés financiers, ils paient plus cher que d’autres pays. », a rappelé Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, chef de la division Climat et Croissance verte à la Banque africaine de développement (BAD). Pour le responsable, au-delà de la disponibilité des fonds, il ne faut pas mettre de côté la difficulté du fléchage : « dans la plupart des mécanismes développés ces dernières années, les acteurs de terrain n’accèdent pas directement aux ressources financières ». Les budgets vont aux gouvernements, qui sont censés les redistribuer à l’échelle locale, or « c’est là où ça bloque », selon l’expert.
Open up direct funding opportunities for those working on the ground
To overcome this challenge, the AfDB has in recent years sought to open up direct financing channels for actors on the ground — NGOs, local communities and municipalities — outside the traditional state-led system. In Benin, a $1 million project, channelled directly through local organisations, has thus funded 15 investments across nine municipalities. The bank is also developing large-scale regional programmes — the Drought Resilient Programme for the Horn of Africa, now in its fourth phase since 2012, and the PIDACC in West Africa, co-financed by the Green Climate Fund. For its part, AFD has notably initiated support for public agricultural banks — Crédit Agricole du Maroc, LBA in Senegal, FIRA in Mexico, and a livestock bank in Uzbekistan — in financing farmers through subsidised credit lines. The aim is to offer “subsidised, lower interest rates tailored to producers”, explained Sandra Rullière. In return, the banks commit to financing agroecological practices — and AFD supports them with technical assistance and innovative tools to ensure these are implemented on the ground without increasing the cost of credit. Between 2008 and 2022, over €900 million was committed to 50 financial institutions, which in turn financed thousands of farmers. “We have an extremely powerful lever,” she concluded.
But this approach cannot work without appropriate public policies. “Inconsistent policies mean inconsistent investment,” the official warned. Yet one such inconsistency lies in the lack of action by governments in the face of droughts. Despite its status as “the most costly and deadly climate crisis”, this phenomenon “has still not become a national development priority”, lamented Al-Hamndou Dorsouma. Yet multilateral banks respond to the priorities of governments. “If governments make it a priority, I see no reason why we wouldn’t provide funding.” At the Convention’s Global Mechanism, Habiba Khiari, for her part, laments the difficulty governments face in developing well-structured drought response plans. “We have noticed that countries have not properly planned these strategies or their targets. There is duplication, and funding is fragmented across several sectors and frameworks—climate, humanitarian aid and development.” This results in a lack of clarity for donors and funding bodies.
Strengthening the capacity of national and local stakeholders
Announced at COP16, the Global Partnership for Drought Resilience aims to address these bottlenecks. The initiative includes a preparedness fund to develop integrated drought-investment plans; a project development facility, backed by a multi-partner fund and a dedicated private-sector instrument (the Drought Resilience Investment Facility); and a knowledge bank to pool solutions. According to Habiba Khiari, the secretariat should be operational before the end of the year. In her view, it is essential to strengthen the capacities of national and local stakeholders to enable them to better meet the requirements of funders. Until this is done, “the pace of resource mobilisation will be slow and will take a long time”. And for Sandra Rullière, it is also essential to work collectively, particularly at the local level, on funding priorities – an aspect she believes is often overlooked. “Natural resource management involves different uses, with needs that can be conflicting and contradictory,” she emphasises. Deciding to allocate a piece of land, a pond or a forest to a particular use at a particular time “requires facilitating dialogue”. Yet local facilitators capable of mediating these trade-offs are rare, and their training is absent from the curriculum.
What could COP 17, due to take place next August in Mongolia, change? According to Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, the conference must adopt a protocol on drought – something African countries have long called for but which remained out of reach in Riyadh. “Africa has fought hard for this protocol. ” For him, the key lies in governments prioritising drought and in reforms that enable them to make use of what already exists: sovereign financing, green bonds, insurance mechanisms. “Increasing governments’ capacity to absorb these measures: that is, for me, the most important thing, and it lies far more with the governments than with the COP.” Sandra Rullière, for her part, raises the issue of rewarding environmental performance. Fair trade, responsible corporate procurement, public equalisation mechanisms… The tools exist to some extent, but remain insufficient. One thing is certain, according to Habiba Khiari: “We cannot afford the luxury of each working on our own on these issues. The urgency has been highlighted.”
