The board of the African Development Bank Group has approved a framework to cushion African countries against the global energy and fertiliser crisis. The Global Energy and Fertilizer Crisis Response Framework (GEFCRF), approved on 1 September 2026, is meant to deliver timely, targeted support for immediate needs while strengthening member countries against future shocks, building on the Bank's COVID-19 Response Facility and its African Emergency Food Production Facility.

It will be financed with an additional USD 4.1 billion in African Development Bank lending and up to USD 960 million from the African Development Fund, the group's concessional arm, raising the Bank's 2026 lending target to about USD 12.7 billion. The response is temporary — valid for one year from approval, then reviewed before any extension — and demand-driven, with support tailored to each country's vulnerability and an appropriate financial and policy response.

The Bank describes the continuing crisis in the Middle East as a significant external shock for African economies, reflected in rising global prices for energy, food, fertilisers and other commodities on which many countries depend heavily and import massively, compounded by disruptions to trade routes and maritime corridors that raise transport costs, delay deliveries and expose fragile supply chains.

The framework works through four pillars: stabilising macroeconomic conditions with rapid counter-cyclical financing, short-term buffers and coordinated fiscal, monetary and debt responses; securing food, energy and fertiliser supply systems with emergency and trade finance; protecting essential spending and vulnerable households, women and youth in particular, through targeted social protection rather than broad subsidies; and preserving policy space for medium-term reforms that reduce dependence on volatile external energy, food and fertiliser markets.

'A crisis response must do more than cushion the shock. It must make countries stronger,' said Abdul Kamara, acting vice-president for country and regional operations. Martin Fregene, officer in charge as vice-president for agriculture, human and social development, put the farm case plainly: 'When fertilizer becomes too expensive or difficult to find, farmers use less and harvests can suffer. Access to finance is part of the solution, helping businesses keep fertilizer moving to farmers, while we work to build stronger fertilizer markets and more local supply in Africa.'

Source: AgriBusiness Global