World Bank under fire in global push to pull funding from factory farming

Onome Amuge

The World Bank Group is facing increasing pressure to cease its financial backing of industrial animal agriculture, also known as factory farming, as concerns mount over its detrimental impacts on communities, the environment, and animal welfare.

The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), a Nigerian advocacy group based in Lagos  spearheaded the demonstration locally recently through a formal letter to the World Bank’s office, urging executive directors to adopt a formal exclusion policy and redirect funds towards more sustainable food systems.

Echoing the sentiments of 250 organisations, academics, and advocates across 14 cities and five continents, RDI’s public letter alledged that the World Bank, funded by member governments including Nigeria, is channeling public money into factory farms despite their widely acknowledged contribution to climate change, biodiversity loss, and human rights abuses.

Beyond the environmental and public health concerns, the activists underscore the profound social and ethical dimensions of factory farming. They argue that the industry increases existing inequalities, disproportionately harming women and low-income communities through environmental pollution, displacement, and precarious labour conditions. Animal welfare, a central tenet of their advocacy, is severely compromised in these systems, where animals often endure lives of confinement, discomfort, and stress.

According to Philip Jakpor, executive director of RDI, Nigeria should not be complicit in financing this harm.

“As a shareholder of the World Bank, our government has a role in deciding where money is invested. We do not want our public funds supporting industrial factory farms that harm communities, animals, and the planet. We are calling on our government to push for an end to these destructive investments,” Jakpor stated.

The activists argue that factory farming, formally defined as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), represents a primary mode of animal product production in developed nations like the U.S, among other developed countries. However, this intensive agricultural model, where large numbers of animals are confined indoors and sustained on purchased feed, comes at a significant cost.

RDI highlighted the industry’s role as a leading driver of climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the emergence of zoonotic diseases. The group also emphasised the exacerbation of gender-based violence, labour exploitation, and social inequality, disproportionately affecting women and low-income communities.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm, has come under particular scrutiny. RDI pointed to the IFC’s $1.25 billion financing package to Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, a company with a controversial environmental track record, as an example of problematic investment in an ancillary sector. They cited the company’s alleged involvement in the 2021 pollution of the Okulu River, with devastating consequences for aquatic life.

Further fueling concerns in Nigeria is the recent $2.5 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS. The agreement to construct six production facilities within the country raises fears of increased environmental strain and potential negative impacts on animal health, given JBS’s track record and the challenges associated with large-scale industrial animal agriculture.

“The World Bank and IFC’s financing of factory farms contradicts their commitments to the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, UN SDGs, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,”  Jakpor noted, adding that countries like Nigeria should not be financing industries that undermine these agreements.

The IFC’s proposed $5.44 million loan to Africaine de Production Animale and Couvoir Amar, two Senegalese companies in the industrial poultry production chain, highlights the expanding footprint of this agricultural model across the African continent. The loan, intended to finance the construction of a large-scale animal feed mill relying on imported soybeans and maize primarily from Brazil, raises concerns about the potential for similar environmental and social impacts in Senegal and the reinforcement of a globalised, resource-intensive food system.

Dominion Amupitan, RDI project assistant, echoed these concerns, stating, “What we are documenting in Nigeria and across Africa is alarming and Nigeria must lead the way in rejecting these investments.

Amupitan  urged the Nigerian  government to utilise its voting power at the World Bank to halt the financing of factory farming projects. This,she noted, is a critical juncture for the Bank to transition towards funding sustainable and just food systems that prioritise the well-being of people, animals, and the environment.

The environmental consequences of industrial farming are increasingly well-documented. Research indicates that current food production practices are degrading ecosystems, depleting water resources, and accelerating climate change. The reliance on animal products is identified as a negative force impacting biodiversity.

 The rapid production cycles, exemplified by broiler chickens slaughtered at just weeks old, come with a hidden environmental cost that extends far beyond the farm gates, analysts observed.

Experts estimate the annual environmental cost of industrialised farming, encompassing greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and wildlife destruction, at around $3 trillion. These externalized costs, such as water purification and disease treatment, are often borne by communities and taxpayers, not the industry itself.

Analysts also highlight the risks within intensive livestock farming, where genetic similarities within confined animal populations increase susceptibility to pathogens and facilitate the rapid spread of viruses, potentially bridging the gap between wild animals, farm animals, and humans.

“This is a critical moment for the Bank to transition to funding sustainable, just food systems that protect people, animals, and the environment,” insisted Amupitan, underscoring the growing global movement advocating for a fundamental shift in food production practices.

As reports suggest, the pressure on institutions like the World Bank to align their financial practices with their stated commitments to a healthier planet and a more equitable future is only set to intensify as the true costs of industrial animal agriculture become increasingly apparent. The question now is whether these powerful financial actors will heed the call for change and embrace a more sustainable and ethical vision for food production.