Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman calls on global bodies to raise investment for food security

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called on multilateral institutions to “effectively contribute” to ensuring global food security by investing in storage and processing and making small-size farming remunerative.

In a meeting with Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in the national capital, the minister also stressed the importance of addressing new global challenges--such as food security, debt distress, and climate change--with the participation of emerging and developing economies, according to a finance ministry tweet.

While appreciating India's leadership for steering the G20 presidency, Lario updated Sitharaman about how the IFAD is bringing climate change to the centre stage of the institution’s scheme of things, the ministry tweeted.


India had raised the issue of food security as well as debt distress in low-and middle-income countries in the April meeting of the G20 grouping under its presidency. This was also acknowledged by other G20 members.

Over a half of the world’s low-income countries are estimated to be at the heightened risk of debt distress or are already into it. Together, about 70 low-income nations are estimated to be bearing a loan burden of $326 billion.