World Bank creates $1.2bn food crisis fund

from RTE

The World Bank has announced a $1.2bn programme to fight the global food crisis, including $200m in grants to poor countries facing the most dire needs.

The bank also said it would boost its overall support for global agriculture and food to $6bn next year, up 50%.

Crop insurance and other assistance for small farmers in developing countries will be part of the programme.

Skyrocketing commodity prices in the past year have battered developing countries, where food takes the lion's share of household income.

Rising food prices have sparked deadly unrest and increased malnutrition, and a number of countries have put limits on exports to try to feed their own populations.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick - a former top US trade official who has made agriculture a priority since taking the helm of the poverty-fighting bank last July - said the programme was aimed at supporting coordinated international efforts.

More than 150 countries agreed to a new deal for global food policy at the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in April.

The new $1.2bn rapid-response facility supports safety-net programmes such as food for work, conditional cash transfers, and school feeding for the most vulnerable.

It also provides support for food production by supplying seeds and fertiliser, improving irrigation for small farmers, and providing budget support to offset tariff reductions for food and other unexpected costs.

The first grants from the $200m trust fund have been approved for Liberia, Haiti and Djibouti, with Liberia and Haiti receiving $10m each and Djibouti $5m.