Bangladesh to receive grant from global food security fund
This funding aims at strengthening sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems in the world’s poorest countries
The Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP), a global fund dedicated to reducing food insecurity and poverty in low-income countries, has announced $121 million in new grants for nine national governments and, for the first time, an additional $30 million for producer organisations based in 12 countries worldwide, including Bangladesh.
This funding aims to strengthen sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems in the world's poorest countries, in response to rising food insecurity linked to Covid-19 and climate change, reads a press release.
The new country grants – to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal, Senegal, South Sudan, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – will help countries achieve their national development priorities, such as improving farmers' incomes and enhancing climate resilience, while strengthening private sector engagement.
The new producer organisation grants – in Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Honduras, Maldives, Nicaragua, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda – will help strengthen the institutional capacities of these organisations as key economic players in the value chain, including through better access to finance, markets, and innovative solutions for their farmers.
"This unprecedented demand for agricultural funding in response to the latest GAFSP Call for Proposals is a clear signal to the international community that we must all step up and put more resources where they can be most impactful," said Dirk Schattschneider, assistant director-general at the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany.
"Over the past two years, producer organisations have influenced Covid-19 responses plans adopted by policymakers. The opportunity to directly fund these organisations helps increase their agency in revising food and related policies," said Ibrahima Coulibaly, President of the Network of Farmers' Organisations and Smallholder Farmers in West Africa (ROPPA).
