The World Bank Group has approved a $40 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Sierra Leone’s Sustainable Agricultural Value-chains Intensification for Growth (SAVIG) project, aimed at improving agricultural productivity, attracting private investment and creating employment opportunities across selected value chains.
The approval, announced on June 18, 2026, forms part of efforts to support Sierra Leone’s broader economic transformation agenda and strengthen food security through increased investment in the agriculture sector.
Agriculture remains a major pillar of Sierra Leone’s economy, providing livelihoods for a large proportion of the rural population and contributing significantly to national output. However, the sector continues to face challenges, including low productivity, limited private sector participation, restricted access to agricultural inputs and markets, and institutional constraints affecting value chain development.
The SAVIG project seeks to address these challenges through a market-driven approach focused on strengthening production systems, improving post-harvest management, expanding processing capacity and creating stronger links between farmers, agribusinesses and markets.
“By transforming smallholder farming into a platform for more and better jobs, this operation is addressing two of Sierra Leone’s most pressing challenges unemployment and food insecurity at once,” said Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Group Country Manager for Sierra Leone.
He noted that agriculture has significant untapped potential and that strengthening agricultural value chains would improve the livelihoods of farming households while contributing to the development of a more diversified and resilient economy.
The project will target priority agricultural value chains with strong growth potential and support investments that enhance production, processing and market access. It will also promote greater private sector participation through improved access to finance and digital agricultural solutions.
According to Vinay Kumar Vutukuru, World Bank Lead Agricultural Specialist, the project adopts a comprehensive approach by investing across the entire agricultural value chain, from production to market access.
“This project takes a pragmatic, systems-wide approach to agricultural transformation. We are investing not just in production, but in the full value chain: from farm to market,” he said.
The project is also expected to contribute significantly to job creation under the Government’s Feed Salone Strategy, which seeks to create at least 35,000 formal jobs in the agriculture sector.
Sierra Leone currently generates approximately 41,000 jobs annually, compared to an estimated requirement of 75,000 new jobs each year up to 2050 to maintain current employment levels. Through SAVIG, the World Bank expects increased opportunities in farming, agricultural inputs, processing, storage, and other downstream activities.
The initiative will benefit smallholder farmers, rural entrepreneurs and agribusiness operators, with special attention to women and young people who play a significant role in agricultural activities.
The World Bank said the investment will help position agriculture as a driver of inclusive economic growth while supporting Sierra Leone’s efforts to improve food security, expand employment opportunities and promote sustainable private sector-led development.
World Bank Approves $40 Million to Boost Agricultural Value Chains and Job Creation in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, June 18, 2026 — The World Bank Group today approved a $40 million International Development Association (IDA) grant to support the Sustainable Agricultural Value-chains Intensification for Growth (SAVIG) project in Sierra Leone. The project aims to enhance productivity and private investment, and create jobs in select agricultural value chains, contributing to the country’s broader economic transformation and food security goals.
Agriculture remains the backbone of Sierra Leone’s economy, employing the majority of the rural population and accounting for a significant share of national output. Despite this central role, productivity levels remain low, private sector participation is limited, and value chain development is constrained by limited access to inputs and markets, and weak institutional frameworks. The SAVIG project is designed to address these structural challenges through a comprehensive, market-oriented approach.
“By transforming smallholder farming into a platform for more and better jobs, this operation is addressing two of Sierra Leone’s most pressing challenges – unemployment and food insecurity – at once,” said Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Group Country Manager for Sierra Leone. “Agriculture holds enormous, untapped potential in this country, and by strengthening value chains, this investment will improve the livelihoods of farming households as well as laying the foundation for a more diversified and resilient economy.”
The project will focus on select priority value chains with high growth potential, providing targeted investments to improve production systems, post-harvest handling, processing, and market linkages. SAVIG will help position Sierra Leone’s agriculture sector as an engine of inclusive economic growth by fostering stronger connections between smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and buyers. Investments will also support the policy environment for greater private sector participation, including through improved access to finance and digital agriculture solutions.
“This project takes a pragmatic, systems-wide approach to agricultural transformation,” said Vinay Kumar Vutukuru, World Bank Lead Agricultural Specialist. “We are investing not just in production, but in the full value chain: from farm to market. By catalyzing private investment alongside public support, we expect to see lasting improvements in incomes, employment, and food security for people across Sierra Leone.”
Job creation is central to the project’s design. Sierra Leone currently generates only 41,000 jobs annually against an estimated need for 75,000 new jobs each year through 2050 just to maintain current employment levels. SAVIG will directly contribute to the Government’s “Feed Salone Strategy” target of creating at least 35,000 formal jobs in the agriculture sector, by strengthening farm jobs as well as expanding off-farm segments of value chains, particularly in input supply and value addition, to generate more and better employment opportunities, especially in downstream segments of the targeted value chains.
The project is expected to benefit smallholder farmers, rural entrepreneurs, and agribusiness operators across the targeted value chains, with particular attention to the inclusion of women and youth – groups that are disproportionately engaged in agricultural activities.
Contacts:
In Freetown: Moses A. Kargbo, +232 76 345930, mkargbo@worldbank.org
For more information about the World Bank’s work in Sierra Leone, visit: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/sierraleone
For more information, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa
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