UN’s Agricultural Development Fund aims to attract Saudi investors in sustainable bonds, says special envoy

UN agricultural fund courts Saudi investors for sustainable bond push, eyes rural projects in Jazan

The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is actively seeking Saudi investment for its sustainable bond initiative after issuing more than $1 billion in sustainability bonds since 2022, and is deepening partnerships with Saudi institutions to back rural value chains such as coffee and mango production in Jazan. Dina Saleh, IFAD’s special envoy for the Middle East, said the fund currently manages 123 active projects across more than 90 countries and has mobilized climate finance that represented 60 percent of its approved loan and grant program in 2025, totaling $616.2 million.

“Saudi Arabia is a high-value strategic partner and a founding member of IFAD,” Saleh said, underlining the “stronger and more dynamic than ever” cooperation between IFAD and the kingdom as both sides explore water security, value-chain development, innovation, and investment in food-insecure countries.

IFAD is positioning sustainable bonds as a vehicle to attract private capital from Gulf investors, including Saudi entities, to scale up projects with measurable social and environmental outcomes. The fund stresses private-sector participation as a driver of profitability: projects with strong private-sector involvement have delivered income gains of close to 64 percent, Saleh noted.

• More than $1 billion in sustainability bond issuances since 2022.
• 123 active IFAD projects in over 90 countries.
• Climate finance accounted for 60% of IFAD’s 2025 approved program — $616.2 million.
• Income gains of close to 64% in projects with strong private-sector participation.

IFAD’s engagement with Saudi Arabia spans financing and technical cooperation. The fund highlighted collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture on technical support for coffee and mango value chains in Jazan, as well as partnerships with the Saudi Fund for Development and the Saudi Agricultural Development Fund on food security, livelihoods, and resilience. IFAD’s Riyadh office, opened in 2019, serves as a regional gateway to strengthen ties across the Gulf and coordinate with regional financing institutions.

Saleh framed IFAD’s mandate amid growing global food insecurity: “Food insecurity affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide amid climate, economic, and geopolitical shocks,” she said, adding that IFAD’s 50 years of work proves that investing in rural resilience is both cost-effective and essential for long-term stability. Over the past decade, IFAD-funded projects increased production for 149 million people, expanded market access for 153 million people, and raised incomes for 188 million people, she said.

The fund is also leveraging innovative financial instruments — including risk-sharing and first-loss mechanisms — to mobilize private finance for climate adaptation and resilience. IFAD issued its first sustainability bond in 2022, becoming the first and only UN fund to do so, a move it says has helped close financing gaps for smallholder farmers.

Looking ahead, IFAD’s Fourteenth Replenishment aims to channel investments into deeper market integration, expanded rural employment (especially for youth), and strengthened resilience to climate change, conflict and economic shocks. Saleh indicated that combining Saudi resources and regional green initiatives with IFAD’s rural transformation expertise could accelerate the development of more resilient food systems and unlock new opportunities for Saudi investors in sustainable capital markets.