As the global food crisis continues to wreak havoc, the The World Bank says it has stepped up its efforts to address growing food insecurity, particularly in Africa.
According to the latest update released on Monday, the Bank has now committed $45 billion through a combination of new lending and existing portfolio, surpassing its initial commitment of $30 billion over 15 months.
Accordingly, the Bank’s food and nutrition security portfolio now spans 90 countries, with particular emphasis on both short-term interventions, such as expanding social protection, and longer-term resilience measures, including productivity enhancement and climate-smart agriculture.
In Africa, World Bank interventions are expected to benefit millions, with a particular focus on addressing the disproportionate impact on women.
“The Bank’s intervention is expected to benefit 335 million people, equivalent to 44% of the number of undernourished people. About 53% of beneficiaries are women – disproportionately affected by the crisis,” the briefing says.
One initiative is the $2.75 billion Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa, which aims to increase the resilience and capacity of the region’s food systems to address growing food insecurity.
“Now in its third phase, the program will strengthen inter-agency food crisis response and also strengthen medium- and long-term efforts for resilient agricultural production, sustainable natural resource development, expanded market access and a greater focus on food system resilience. policy-making”, the briefing emphasizes.
In West Africa, the $766 million West African Food Systems Resilience Program is working to increase food insecurity preparedness and improve the resilience of food systems.
“The program increases digital advisory services for agriculture and food crisis prevention and management, strengthening the adaptive capacity of agricultural system actors and investing in regional integration and food trade to increase food security,” the briefing says.
An additional $345 million is currently being prepared for Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
The Bank’s interventions cover various countries across the continent, addressing a variety of challenges. For example, in Malawi, a $95 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) aims to increase the commercialization of selected agricultural value chain products and provide immediate and effective response to crises or emergencies.
In Madagascar, a $200 million IDA grant seeks to strengthen decentralized service delivery, upgrade water supplies, restore and protect landscapes, and strengthen the resilience of food and livelihood systems in the drought-prone Grand Sud.
In addition, the $175 million Sahel Irrigation Initiative Regional Support project is helping to build resilience and enhance the productivity of agricultural and pastoral activities in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.
“More than 130,000 farmers and members of pastoral communities benefit from small and medium irrigation initiatives. The project creates a portfolio of irrigation investment projects with a bank account of approximately 68,000 hectares, particularly in medium and large-scale irrigation in the Sahel region,” the World Bank briefing said.