Jamaica Joins AgriConnect: Putting Smallholder Farmers at the Center of Agricultural Growth

When a farmer gets connected to a market, to a reliable buyer, or to financing for efficient operations, the difference shows up in income, stability and whether children stay in school or families have enough food. That connection, however, remains out of reach for most smallholder farmers worldwide.

On April 29, the World Bank Group and the Government of Jamaica officially launched AgriConnect Jamaica, part of a global initiative designed to transform smallholder farming, create jobs, and strengthen global food security.

A Global Problem

Family farmers produce nearly eighty percent of the world's food by value. Yet they are also the ones left furthest behind, cut off from technology, basic infrastructure, and finance. Only one in ten smallholder farmers worldwide can access commercial credit, leaving an annual financing gap estimated at US$170 billion. The inequalities run deeper, as women produce half of the world's food but own just 15 percent of the land. When farmers can't reach markets, food never reaches consumers and families lose out on income.

"Commercial financing doesn't get to those at the bottom of the pyramid," said Benoit Bosquet, World Bank Regional Director for Sustainable Development for Latin America and Caribbean at the launch event. "Eighty percent of food is produced by family farmers - but these are the ones facing the biggest gaps in technology and finance."

With 2.8 billion people (globally) still lacking access to affordable, nutritious diets, the stakes for getting this right extend well beyond any single country.

Why Jamaica?

Jamaica was selected as one of the first movers for AgriConnect because of the sector's demonstrated potential and the government's commitment to agricultural transformation. Agriculture here is not a marginal activity - the agrifood system, from farming to food processing and trade, accounts for nearly 30% of Jamaica's total employment, according to FAO estimates. It is a path to stability and food security.

"We would like to make sure Jamaica capitalizes on its great potential in agriculture," said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Director for the Caribbean. "It can provide stable income for women and attract youth. It is the sector of the future."

The timing is also significant. Jamaica is still recovering from Hurricane Melissa, which caused widespread damage across the agricultural sector. Rebuilding with stronger systems - insurance, market access, climate-smart practices - makes the launch of AgriConnect particularly relevant.

Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Honorable Floyd Green pointed to concrete evidence of what is already possible. Former bauxite lands in Content, Manchester have been transformed into thriving greenhouse hubs, with farmers connected directly to markets, with World Bank support. That model - smallholders operating commercially, with access to buyers and infrastructure - is what AgriConnect aims to replicate and scale.

The initiative targets 75,000 family farmers in Jamaica over the next four years, helping them achieve higher and more stable incomes by connecting them to markets, finance, and climate-smart technology.

What AgriConnect Does

The program works across three pillars: strengthening foundations, revamping policies and mobilizing private capital. In Jamaica, this will take place through three regional anchor programs. The first focuses on agrifinance - derisking farmers to unlock private capital for family farmers will see IFC deepen engagement with agricultural banks, scale crop and livestock insurance, and use guarantees and structured finance to bring private investors into a sector they have historically avoided. The program will also help Jamaica to tap into innovative financing, including debt swaps and carbon credits, to unlock new capital for resilient agriculture. Jamaica's exposure to hurricanes and climate shocks makes this particularly critical.

The second targets Agritrade and market access through integration in growth value chains by strengthening foundations - organizing farmers into cooperatives, improving infrastructure, and building skills so that farming operates as a business, not subsistence. Finance only works if farmers have markets and aggregation, governance and anchor-led integration are key.

The third anchor program looks at AgTech and Practices, to promote digital, skills and inputs for reliance and competitiveness. Productivity and resilience are becoming increasingly digital and requires coordinated investment.

Minister Green emphasized that reaching farmers outside the formal finance system is the core challenge: "It's important that these interventions get to small farmers who are outside the finance sector," he said. "We believe working with the World Bank and AgriConnect can help us finally break the back of this challenge."

Jamaica joins a global effort to transform how farmers connect to markets. By 2030, the goal is to link 300 million farmers to stronger markets and better support systems, backed by the World Bank Group's commitment to double its annual agribusiness investments to US$9 billion. The launch in Kingston marks the first step in that journey.