LAC—the region with the greatest agricultural potential in the world—faces the dual challenge of increasing productivity while ensuring the sustainable use of its natural wealth.

Between 2010 and 2024, 40 operations related to agricultural development were approved for a total of USD 3.6 billion. In addition, between 2020 and 2024, 14 financial credit line operations were disbursed for USD 716 million, bringing the total amount financed during that period to USD 4.3 billion. 

For CAF's impact analysis, a subset of these operations is being considered: 

• Between 2014 and 2024, CAF allocated USD 1.81 billion in loan operations, equity investments, and technical cooperation to promote a more productive and sustainable agricultural sector. In addition, it supported corporate loan operations and credit lines to financial institutions and managed USD 140 million in GEF and GCF-administered funds.

CONTRIBUTION IN NUMBERS 

Through this support, CAF has potentially contributed to improving the incomes of at least 550,000 families and 210,000 agricultural producers in LAC. It has also promoted more sustainable practices, along with greater climate change adaptation and mitigation in agricultural production.

Among the various actions and expected impacts, the following stand out:

• Support for agricultural extension could improve productivity and increase farmers’ incomes, although the exact magnitude depends on the type of extension, the content delivered, and the implementation context.
• Promoting the adoption of technology could increase farmers’ income by approximately 30%, though results vary significantly by context.
• Encouraging the use of genetically improved seeds could raise household income by 35% and reduce poverty levels by 4%.
• Producer certification could help increase prices received and household income by around 13%, while support for commercialization could raise income by 5% to 8%.
• Irrigation investments could boost agricultural production by between 0.34% and 7.1%, potentially increasing farmers’ income by 10% to 47%, and household consumption by up to 30%, particularly of nutritious foods.
• Expanding access to finance in the agricultural sector could promote the purchase of productive inputs and technology adoption for a subset of farmers. To extend the impact to a broader group of producers, it is necessary to increase farmers’ willingness to adopt improved practices and invest in inputs, as well as support their integration into agricultural value chains.