As the global food crisis continues to wreak havoc, the World Bank says it has scaled up its efforts to tackle rising food insecurity, particularly in Africa.
According to the latest update released on Monday, the Bank has now made available $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 a specific focus on both short-term interventions, such as expanding social protection, and longer-term resilience measures, including boosting productivity and climate-smart agriculture.
In Africa, the World Bank’s interventions are expected to benefit millions, with a particular emphasis 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. Around 53% of the beneficiaries are women – they are disproportionately more affected by the crisis,” the update states.
One initiative is the $2.75 billion Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa, which aims to increase the region’s food systems’ resilience and ability to tackle growing food insecurity.
“Now in phase three, the program will enhance inter-agency food crisis response and also boost medium- and long-term efforts for resilient agricultural production, sustainable development of natural resources, expanded market access, and a greater focus on food systems resilience in policymaking,” the update highlights.
In West Africa, the $766 million West Africa Food Systems Resilience Program is working to increase preparedness against food insecurity and improve the resilience of food systems.
“The program is increasing digital advisory services for agriculture and food crisis prevention and management, boosting adaption capacity of agriculture system actors, and investing in regional food market integration and trade to increase food security,” the update states.
An additional $345 million is currently under preparation for Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
The Bank’s interventions span various countries across the continent, addressing diverse challenges. For instance, in Malawi, a $95 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) aims to increase the commercialization of select agriculture value chain products and provide an immediate and effective response to crises or emergencies.
In Madagascar, a $200 million IDA grant seeks to strengthen decentralized service delivery, upgrade water supply, restore and protect landscapes, and strengthen the resilience of food and livelihood systems in the drought-prone ‘Grand Sud’.
Furthermore, the $175 million Sahel Irrigation Initiative Regional Support Project is helping build resilience and boost 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 are benefiting from small and medium-sized irrigation initiatives. The project is building a portfolio of bankable irrigation investment projects of around 68,000 ha, particularly in medium and large-scale irrigation in the Sahel region,” the World Bank update stated.
