The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a UN specialized agency, on Monday announced a partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to promote food security and climate-resilient farming in Africa.
Low and middle-income African countries will benefit from the new cooperation between IFAD and EIB, aimed at enhancing climate resilience among the continent’s small-holder farmers and addressing food insecurity, said a joint statement from the two agencies.
Under the new partnership, EIB will provide 350 million Euros (380.6 million U.S. dollars) to help IFAD strengthen the capacity of African small-holder farmers to cope with climatic shocks alongside food and fuel crises.
“By joining forces, we can eradicate hunger and poverty, and support millions of small-scale farmers to be more resilient to climate change,” IFAD president Alvaro Lario said in a statement.
He added that supporting African small-scale farmers who are on the frontline of the climate crisis is key to stabilizing global food supply chains besides hastening economic recovery in the continent.
Vice President of EIB Ambroise Fayolle said that by leveraging targeted financing, knowledge sharing and capacity development, the two organizations will boost food, nutritional security and climate response in Africa.
