CSOs Urge World Bank to End Factory Farming Funding

On April 15, 2026, civil society organizations, including the Youth Agroecology Restoration Network, held an advocacy campaign in Ibadan, Nigeria, urging the World Bank to cease funding for factory farming. They called for a shift in public financing towards community-based agroecological food systems, reflecting growing concerns over the World Bank Group's continued investment in large-scale industrial agriculture, which is often linked to environmental degradation and climate change.

Recent data indicated that the World Bank Group invested approximately $1.4 billion in industrial livestock through its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, approving 38 investments totaling nearly $2 billion from 2020 to 2025. The campaign emphasized the need for stronger policies to support smallholder farmers and redirect funds to agroecological methods, arguing that continued investment in factory farming risks deepening environmental degradation and social inequity, particularly affecting smallholder farmers in Africa.