In response to rising levels of food insecurity, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has launched a new $6 billion financing facility to strengthen the private sector’s ability to respond to the crisis and support food production.
The war in Ukraine, as well as an uneven global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, have added to rising levels of hunger and malnutrition, which have already been exacerbated by climate change and increasingly severe weather events that are damaging harvests and reducing yields.
A significant portion of the funding will be provided through the new Global Food Security Platform (the Platform) to support sustainable food production and delivery of food stocks to food-insecure countries. The assistance will be aimed at facilitating food commodity trade, delivering inputs to farmers, promoting efficient production in major origin countries, including Ukraine, and ensuring effective distribution of food products in destination countries.
Long-term actions to improve the resilience of the global food system and reduce its climate and ecological footprint will also be prioritized. This includes increasing crop efficiency, improving fertilizer access, greening fertilizer production and use, reducing crop loss and food waste, improving supply chain efficiency, and addressing infrastructure bottlenecks.
The $6 billion will be used to assist private sector companies throughout the food value chain by leveraging IFC’s sectoral expertise in agribusiness, manufacturing, infrastructure, and technology, as well as the financial sector and trade finance.
“The private sector has an essential role to play in alleviating food insecurity and in creating lasting solutions. By strengthening supply chains and ensuring that people have access to and can grow affordable food, this initiative will contribute to building resilient food systems in the most vulnerable regions,” said IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop.
The Platform will supplement the World Bank’s $30 billion commitment in response to the food crisis. In addition, the IFC is increasing its engagement with other partners, such as development finance institutions, foundations, banks, and a variety of private companies, in order to mobilize collective action to address global food security challenges.
