World Bank sets up $1.2 billion facility for food aid
29 May 2008
The World Bank announced today that it has set up a financing facility in the order of $1.2 billion to assist with the global food crisis.
A week before the United Nations summit on the global food crisis, to be held in Rome, the World Bank today announced that it has set up a "rapid financing facility" to address the immediate needs of the global food crisis.
The facility will include $200 million in grants for the world's poorest countries and those most at risk of starvation. Grants for Djibouti ($5 million), Haiti ($10 million), and Liberia ($10 million) were approved today. Grants to support Togo, Yemen and Tajikistan, are forthcoming. These countries have been identified as high priority based on rapid needs assessments undertaken with the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The $1.2 billion facility will be used for financing of safety net programs, including conditional cash transfers and school feeding programs, as well as food production by supplying seeds and fertilizer. The facility is also set up to provide budget assistance to countries that have cut food tariffs.
In addition, the World Bank is setting up a "Multi-Donor Trust Fund" to facilitate policy and operational co-ordination among donors, and to "leverage financial support for the rapid delivery of seeds and fertilizer to small farmers." The World Bank is planning to increase funding for global agriculture and food from $4 billion to $6 billion next year, including more than $350 million in new lending for agriculture in Africa and $150 million for Latin America.
Sources
World Bank acts to mitigate food crisis, by Chris Bryant, May 29, 2008 (Financial Times website)
World Bank offers £1.2bn food aid, BBC World News, May 29, 2008 (BBC website)
World Bank Launches $1.2 Billion Fast-Track Facility for Food Crisis, World Bank Press Release, May 29, 2008 (World Bank website)
Additional Resources
Amid food riots and shaken governments IFIs scramble to develop a coherent response, by Bank Information Center, May 9, 2008 (BIC website)