IFAD Food Systems Transformation Grant 2026: US$2 Million Funding

IFAD FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION GRANT 2026: APPLY FOR THE US$2 MILLION CENTRAL SAHEL OPPORTUNITY

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has opened a call for proposals under its Support for Food Systems Transformation in the Central Sahel initiative, offering grant financing of up to US$2 million for an eligible organization or consortium to implement a transformative regional project.

The initiative is designed to strengthen food systems in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with particular attention to the livestock, cassava and rice value chains.

The funding is intended to support innovative and scalable interventions that can improve food security, create employment, strengthen climate resilience and encourage investment across the Central Sahel.

What Is the IFAD Food Systems Transformation Grant?

The call is part of IFAD's efforts to support more resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems.

Rather than providing a personal business grant to individual farmers or entrepreneurs, IFAD is seeking an eligible institution, organization, government agency, private-sector entity, research institution or consortium capable of implementing a regional initiative.

The selected recipient will use the grant to address important challenges and opportunities across priority agricultural value chains.

The programme is particularly interested in solutions that can move beyond small-scale interventions and demonstrate potential for wider adoption and impact across the Central Sahel.

How Much Funding Is Available?

The total grant financing available under the call is US$2 million.

This funding is intended to provide catalytic financing for an eligible organization or consortium implementing the selected initiative.

Applicants should therefore understand that this is not a US$2 million individual agripreneur grant. The call is structured as institutional grant financing for a regional food-systems transformation initiative.

Which Countries Are Covered?

The initiative focuses on three Central Sahel countries:

• Burkina Faso
• Mali
• Niger

Proposals should demonstrate clear regional relevance and explain how the proposed intervention can contribute to food-systems transformation within these countries.

What Agricultural Value Chains Are Prioritized?

IFAD has identified three priority value chains for this particular call.

1. Livestock

Livestock is one of the priority sectors because of its importance to food security, employment and rural livelihoods throughout the region.

Applicants can consider interventions that address challenges across livestock production, processing, marketing and consumption.

2. Cassava

Cassava is another priority value chain under the programme.

Proposals can address opportunities and constraints across the cassava value chain, including production, processing, commercialization and market development.

3. Rice

Rice is also identified as a priority value chain because of its contribution to food security and economic activity.

Innovative approaches that improve production, processing, market access or other parts of the rice value chain may be relevant to the call.

IFAD emphasizes that interventions can address bottlenecks across the value chains, from production and processing to marketing and consumption.

Who Can Apply?

The call is open to eligible institutions and organizations rather than individual applicants.

Potential applicants include:

• Organizations
• Government agencies
• Private-sector entities
• Research institutions
• Consortia

Applicants must satisfy IFAD's grant-financing requirements and demonstrate relevant institutional capacity and experience in the priority areas and themes covered by the call.

Can Organizations Apply as a Consortium?

Yes.

The call allows organizations to apply as a consortium.

This can be useful where different organizations bring complementary capabilities, such as agricultural expertise, research capacity, private-sector networks, technology, financing knowledge or experience working with rural communities.

However, applicants should carefully review the official call documentation to understand the requirements and responsibilities associated with consortium applications.

What Types of Projects Is IFAD Looking For?

IFAD is seeking proposals that can contribute to meaningful transformation of food systems in the Central Sahel.

A strong proposal should demonstrate several important characteristics.

Regional Relevance

The proposed intervention should have relevance beyond a single isolated activity and demonstrate how it can contribute to food-systems transformation across the target region.

Commercial Viability

Projects should demonstrate a realistic pathway toward commercial viability.

This means applicants should explain how the intervention can create sustainable economic value rather than relying entirely on grant support.

Climate Resilience

Climate change presents significant challenges to agricultural production and rural livelihoods.

Proposals should therefore consider how their interventions can improve resilience to climate-related pressures.

Inclusion of Women and Youth

IFAD places emphasis on inclusive development.

Proposals should demonstrate meaningful opportunities for women and young people to participate in and benefit from the intervention.

Potential to Scale

The proposed solution should have the potential to expand and generate transformative results beyond its initial implementation.

Scalability is particularly important because the grant is intended to provide catalytic financing for innovative solutions capable of creating broader impact.

What Challenges Is the Programme Addressing?

The Central Sahel faces interconnected challenges affecting rural communities and food systems.

These include:

• Food insecurity
• Climate change
• Conflict
• Land degradation
• Limited economic opportunities
• Constraints affecting agricultural value chains

At the same time, IFAD identifies opportunities to accelerate resilient and inclusive growth by transforming agri-food systems.

The programme therefore seeks solutions that can address existing bottlenecks while unlocking new opportunities for economic development.

What Could Funding Support?

The grant is intended to support interventions addressing challenges and opportunities throughout the selected value chains.

Depending on the proposed project, activities could relate to:

• Agricultural production
• Food processing
• Market development
• Value-chain strengthening
• Climate resilience
• Private-sector investment
• Employment creation
• Food-security improvement
• Regional integration
• Inclusive entrepreneurship
• Innovative agricultural solutions

Applicants should ensure that their proposed activities directly align with the objectives and requirements contained in the official call documentation.

Required Application Documents

Applicants are expected to submit the required documentation as specified by IFAD.

The call identifies the following key documents:

1. Grant Concept Note Template
2. Self-Certification of Eligibility for IFAD Grant Financing
3. Self-Certification of Eligibility for IFAD Grant Financing for UN entities, where applicable
4. Brief Institutional Profile
5. General Provisions Applicable to IFAD Grant Agreements

The institutional profile should demonstrate relevant experience in the priority areas and themes of the grant within the region.

Proposals may be submitted in English or French, and the required documents must be submitted electronically in PDF format.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submitting proposals is:

16 October 2026 at 23:59 GMT.

The deadline for clarification questions was 2 October 2026 at 23:59 GMT. Applicants should therefore focus on completing and submitting their proposals before the final submission deadline.

How to Prepare a Strong Proposal

Organizations interested in the opportunity should ensure that their concept note clearly addresses the objectives of the call.

Explain the Problem

Clearly identify the food-system challenge your proposed intervention intends to address.

Present a Practical Solution

Explain how the proposed intervention will address the identified challenge and why the approach is innovative.

Demonstrate Regional Impact

Show how the project can contribute to food-systems transformation in Burkina Faso, Mali and/or Niger and demonstrate meaningful regional relevance.

Address Climate Resilience

Explain how the intervention can help agricultural communities, businesses or value chains become more resilient to climate-related challenges.

Include Women and Youth

Demonstrate specific and meaningful ways women and young people will participate in or benefit from the project.

Explain Commercial Viability

Provide a credible explanation of how the proposed intervention can generate sustainable economic value.

Show Scalability

Explain how successful approaches could be expanded, replicated or adopted in other locations or value chains.

Why This IFAD Grant Matters

The Central Sahel faces significant pressure from food insecurity, climate-related challenges and limited economic opportunities.

At the same time, livestock, cassava and rice offer opportunities to strengthen food security, create jobs, improve rural incomes and attract private investment.

IFAD's approach is therefore focused not only on increasing agricultural production but on strengthening the wider system connecting producers, processors, businesses, markets and consumers.

Key Details at a Glance

Important Note for Agripreneurs

The title of this opportunity may make it appear to be a direct US$2 million grant for individual agripreneurs. That is not the structure of the official call.

The US$2 million represents the grant financing available for the selected institutional initiative. Individual farmers and entrepreneurs should not assume that they can apply directly for the full amount.

Organizations working with agripreneurs, agricultural enterprises, research institutions, government bodies and private-sector partners may instead consider whether they meet the institutional eligibility requirements and whether they can develop an appropriate regional proposal.

Conclusion

The IFAD Support for Food Systems Transformation in the Central Sahel call presents an opportunity for eligible institutions and consortia to develop large-scale solutions addressing important agricultural and food-system challenges in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

With up to US$2 million in grant financing, the initiative focuses on the livestock, cassava and rice value chains while prioritizing commercial viability, climate resilience, inclusion of women and youth, regional relevance and potential for scale.

Organizations interested in applying should carefully review the official IFAD documentation, prepare the required concept note and supporting documents, and submit their proposal before 16 October 2026 at 23:59 GMT.

Official application information: IFAD Call for Proposals