US seeks international support from partner countries to expand global agriculture and food security programme

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration today sought international support from partner countries to expand the global agriculture and food security programme (GAFSP), established by the US in 2007-08 in the wake of the food price crisis.

As leaders gather for the World Bank-International Monetary Fund 2014 Spring Meetings this week, Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, in a letter called on international partners to pledge additional support to meet funding goals for GAFSP. In October 2012, the US challenged the international community to provide much needed funding for food security, by committing to contribute US $ 1 to GAFSP for every US $2 from other donors, up to a maximum US contribution of US $ 475 million.

Since the announcement of the funding challenge, other donors have provided US $ 230 million in new pledges. An additional US $ 720 million in pledges from other donors is needed in order to fully leverage matching funds from the US.

"Since GAFSP was established, we have seen sustainable reductions in hunger and malnutrition, but the challenge of meeting the global demand for food is just as pressing as ever," Lew and Kerry wrote. "We are proud to champion this innovative program, and we call upon our international partners to join us in supporting the work of GAFSP. Together, we can make progress in the effort to eradicate hunger and poverty," they said.

GAFSP promotes food security by providing merit-based financing for the agricultural sector in low-income countries, with a focus on small-holder farmers in poor communities. Its financing and technical assistance helps to increase agricultural productivity, link farmers to markets, reduce risk and vulnerability, and improve rural livelihoods.

Managed by the World Bank, GAFSP is a multi-donor trust fund and partnership among developing countries, development partners, civil society, and the private sector. Expected to improve the livelihoods of at least 13 million farmers across 25 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, already, some countries have seen rural incomes increase by more than 200 per cent, the US said.

In Bangladesh, GAFSP has already reached more than 430,000 farmers in the first two years of a five-year programme, providing small-holder producers with training and improved drought- and heat-tolerant seeds and fertilisers that will help farmers adapt to climate change, it noted. Two-and-a-half years into its five-year Rwanda project, GAFSP has already reached more than 92,000 direct beneficiaries, of which half are women.

By helping to increase soil fertility in hillside areas, GAFSP has enabled farmers to improve their yields by an average of fourfold across various crops. GAFSP has also supported the introduction of new high nutrient crop varieties that could improve nutritional outcomes for farmers and their families, the US said.