Paraguay’s forestry sector now has a dedicated financing structure. The Agencia Financiera de Desarrollo (AFD), Paraguay’s national development bank, and the World Bank signed a USD 109.75 million package on October 6 to scale up sustainable agroforestry. The project was approved by the World Bank’s Board in April and combines a USD 100 million loan, with a 17.5-year term and a 3-year grace period, and a USD 9.75 million grant from the Livable Planet Fund.
For years, access to long-term capital has been one of the main limits to growth in a sector where returns take a decade or more to mature. This package addresses that gap directly.
How it works
The program rests on three components:
- A credit line through AFD for plantations, forest restoration, silvopastoral systems and downstream processing.
- A Forestry Investment Fund designed to mobilize equity from institutional and private investors into larger-scale plantation projects.
- Institutional strengthening of AFD’s environmental and social management, to ensure the program meets World Bank standards.
The project supports the expansion of FSC-certified commercial agroforestry in Paraguay’s Eastern Region. It also rewards results: developers who involve smallholders or go beyond legal conservation requirements can access lower interest rates, funded by the grant. The program will also support turning degraded pastures into agroforestry systems that capture carbon and improve soil and water quality.
What it signals for investors
When a multilateral lender builds a dedicated fund to bring institutional capital into Paraguayan plantations, it confirms what we have seen for more than 15 years: Paraguay offers the land, the climate and the growth rates to compete with the region’s leading forestry markets. The program now adds a financing structure built to international standards.
The criteria behind the program are also worth noting. FSC certification, silvopastoral systems and measurable benefits for rural communities sit at the center of its design.
Where Forestal Sylvis stands
These criteria describe the way we already work. We manage around 6,500 hectares under a silvopastoral model, where eucalyptus plantations and cattle share the same land. Our operations are FSC certified, and we are a certified B Corp.
We also measure our social impact with data. Since 2019, we have applied Fundación Paraguaya’s Poverty Stoplight with the families of Cordillerita, in Ybycuí, and tracked their progress year after year.
The loan still requires approval by Paraguay’s Congress, and the eligibility criteria for the credit line and the Forestry Investment Fund are not yet public. We will follow the next steps closely. For investors looking at Paraguay, the direction is clear: long-term capital is arriving, and it favors operators who can already show certified, measurable results.
Sources
AFD, October 9, 2026: https://www.afd.gov.py/noticias/afd-y-banco-mundial-fortalecen-alianza-para-impulsar-la-agroforesteria-sostenible-con-mas-de-usd-109-millones-755
World Bank, April 30, 2026: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/04/30/the-world-bank-scales-up-sustainable-agroforestry-financing-in-paraguay
