People enjoy themselves near blooming flowers in Bishagang park in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, March 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Li An)

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a loan of the equivalent of 300 million US dollars to the Henan Green Agriculture Fund (GAF) Project to foster green agriculture investments in the province.

The project will support the establishment of a dedicated investment facility to demonstrate the viability of financing green agriculture investments by providing financing for equity investments and on-lending to eligible firms, according to a press release from the World Bank.

The project will help foster the development of green agriculture financing standards based on globally accepted green investment principles, good practices and performance benchmarks, as applicable to China's agriculture sector, the World Bank noted.

Henan is a major agricultural province with some of the highest output of livestock and grains in China. The project will be implemented by the Henan Agriculture Development Fund Investment Corporation, which will serve as the fund manager and investor.

About 60 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector are expected to receive financing through the GAF, and the World Bank looks to the GAF to have a catalyzing impact by directly and indirectly mobilizing public and private funds to support green agriculture investments by these SMEs.

"Through this project, both China and the world will benefit from reduced agricultural pollution and emissions," said Martin Raiser, World Bank country director for China.