As high and volatile
food prices continue to impact the world’s poorest people, global action is
critical. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, and
most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. In addition, higher food
prices have increased undernourishment. As a result, progress toward the
Millennium Development Goals closely linked to food and nutrition is lagging,
particularly with respect to child mortality and maternal mortality.
In developing countries
that face more volatile international markets, it is essential to increase the
productivity and resiliency of food production. One program that stands out for
its early results and future potential is the Global
Agriculture & Food Security Program, known as GAFSP, which is
drawing acclaim from donors, recipients, and civil society.
Administered by the
World Bank, GAFSP was established in April 2010 at the request of the G20 and
is a transformational approach to aid targeted to helping countries make
lasting improvements through sustainable investment in agriculture and food
security. Seven countries and the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation have
pledged about $1.1 billion over 3 years.
Neil Watkins of ActionAid noted, “One of the
best outcomes of the L'Aquila summit three years ago was the creation of the
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), an innovative multi-donor
trust fund that backs country plans and engages farmers and civil society in
decision making and implementation. It's already making a huge difference in 12
countries.”
In
Togo, where the agriculture sector contributes 40 percent to
GDP, GAFSP is working with other donors to support is helping the country to
implement their national agriculture plan and has funded seeds, fertilizer, and
training for farmers. It has helped farmers to organize better, improved the
production of maize and cassava, and increased donor coordination. The project
is expected to directly benefit 62,000 people, including crop farmers, fish
producers, and fish merchants.
In Rwanda, one of GAFSP’s first beneficiaries, the
funding is co-financing a project to reduce erosion and bolster productivity in
hillside agriculture with tremendous results: potato yields are seven times
higher than before and cereal yields have quadrupled. GAFSP is transforming
lives, said Hon. John Rwangombwa, minister of finance in Rwanda. Next week,
this groundbreaking partnership will meet to choose another batch of countries
that will receive approximately $180 million in grant funding.
In Nepal, GAFSP will support a project that seeks to explicitly integrate food and nutrition security issues by increasing productivity of agriculture (crops, livestock and fisheries), strengthening the livelihoods base for food insecure communities, and improving the nutritional intake of adolescent, pregnant, and lactating women and children under two years old. The direct beneficiaries for this project are expected to include 150,000 small farmers and 25,000 adolescent girls, young mothers and children.
In Nepal, GAFSP will support a project that seeks to explicitly integrate food and nutrition security issues by increasing productivity of agriculture (crops, livestock and fisheries), strengthening the livelihoods base for food insecure communities, and improving the nutritional intake of adolescent, pregnant, and lactating women and children under two years old. The direct beneficiaries for this project are expected to include 150,000 small farmers and 25,000 adolescent girls, young mothers and children.
GAFSP is just one of the
many ways that the World Bank Group (WBG) is working to put food first. Other
World Bank Group efforts include:
- In response to drought in the
Horn of Africa, the WBG is providing $1.8 billion to
save lives, improve social protection, and foster economic recovery and
drought resilience.
- A first-of-its-kind risk
management product, provided by the International Finance Corporation
(IFC), will enable protection from volatile food prices for farmers, food
producers, and consumers in developing countries.
- The Global
Food Crisis Response Program is helping 40 million people
in 47 countries through $1.5 billion in support.
- The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) framework for
action to address undernutrition was endorsed by over 100 partners,
including the World Bank.
- The WBG is boosting spending on
agriculture to some $6 billion to $8 billion a year from $4 billion in
2008.
- The WBG is coordinating with UN
agencies through the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security
Crisis and with non-governmental organizations.
- Supporting the Partnership
for Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) to
improve food market transparency and to help governments make informed responses
to global food price spikes.
- Advocacy for more investment in
agriculture research -- including through the Consultative
Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) – and
monitoring agricultural trade to identify potential food shortages.
- Supporting improved nutrition
among vulnerable groups through community nutrition programs aimed at
increasing use of health services and improving care giving. As part of
its response to the food crisis, the Bank has supported the provision of
some 2.3 million school meals every day to children in low income
countries.
- IFC will invest up to $1
billion in the Critical Commodities Finance Program, aimed to support
trade in key agricultural and energy-related goods, to help reduce the
risk of food and energy shortages, as well as improve food security for
the world’s poorest.
Improving Food Security
7.5 Million beneficiaries in 12 countries are being reached by GAFSP in just the first call for proposals.
In 4 countries that are reporting results targets – Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Niger, and Rwanda – 44,415 hectares are expected to have new, improved, or rehabilitated irrigation and drainage services.
In Rwanda, 70% of farmers are now using improved farming practices. The GAFSP project there has reached 6,752 beneficiaries, 54% of them women.
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