Abstract
Despite substantial global commitments, international green funds often fail to reach grassroots African food systems due to systemic administrative friction. This article investigates this persistent bottleneck using a mixed-methods design combining Institutional Process Tracing, Transaction Cost Economics modelling, and Spatial-Financial Disbursal Network Analysis across Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, and Zambia. Examining 142 multilateral green agricultural projects from 2015 through 2025 via project documents, national financial registers, and intermediary audits, the study evaluates pre-disbursal latency and capital leakage. Results reveal a mean duration of 28.4 months from board approval to first-mile deployment. Multi-layered environmental and social safeguards account for 42% of this pre-disbursal delay. Furthermore, capital attrition scales exponentially with the number of intermediary tiers: projects operating through three or more intermediaries experience leakage exceeding 45%, whereas streamlined bilateral channels restrict leakage to under 18%. Each additional administrative layer acts as an institutional tax, imposing a 7.5% baseline fee extraction and a 3-month operational delay without yielding corresponding improvements in grassroots impact or accountability. Streamlining these institutional architectures remains vital for effective climate adaptation in Africa’s food systems.