The President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, announced on 25 April that IFAD would make available up to US$200 million from existing loans and grants to provide an immediate boost to agricultural production in the developing world, in the face of high food prices and low food stocks. IFAD’s initiative was reflected in the conclusions of the Berne meeting of the Executive Heads of the UN’s specialised agencies, Funds and Programmes, and Bretton Woods institutions, on 28-29 April. That meeting agreed that there was a need for action to provide developing country farmers with the support required to ensure the next harvest. IFAD’s initiative provides part of the answer to that need. The purpose of the US$200 million is to enable poor farmers to access essential inputs such as seeds and fertiliser, to allow them to prepare for the forthcoming cropping season as well as to establish a basis for sustained increases in production in subsequent seasons. The US$200 million is distinct from emergency relief, food aid or social safety nets, but could accompany such aid measures provided by other partners. The US$200 million is not additional funding. The figure has been estimated from the un-disbursed balance from existing loans and grants which could be allocated to meet immediate needs for food production. In cases where a country has a loan or grant that already includes a component for farm input and materials, the prompt disbursement of those funds might be the most useful response. In other cases, some reallocation may be necessary. Allocation of funds from the US$200 million balance needs to be at the request of governments in member countries, in line with standard IFAD procedures. IFAD has the capacity to respond quickly to such requests. Through its Country Programme Managers (CPMs) among others, IFAD is already communicating to governments IFAD’s willingness to provide assistance to deal with the farmer response to food prices, through existing IFAD projects and, where appropriate, as part of a consortium response involving others, such as the World Bank, the regional development banks, FAO and WFP. The FAO list of food crisis countries currently contains 37 countries. IFAD has operations in 26 of these but is also responding to requests from other countries who are seeking to develop both short and medium term responses. |
 |
 |
 |