Africa-Press – Eswatini. The World Bank (WB) will make 3.6 billion US dollars available for the first phase of the Food Systems Resilience Program (PRSA) in Africa, indicates a note from the African Union (AU).
According to the document, the WB developed two “major programs” for food security and resilience whose multi-phased approach investments will be used throughout West, East and Southern Africa.
The common objective, says the note, is to increase the resilience of the region’s food systems, thus placing all people, including the most vulnerable, on the path to reliable access to adequate, safe and nutritious food.
With this initiative, the aim is to simultaneously improve rural livelihoods and healthy ecosystems, adds the statement that quotes the AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Josefa Sacko.
The note adds that the diplomat provided these data when she presided over the launch of the Multi-Phase Approach Program (MPA), promoted by the Intergovernmental Authority for East African Development (IGAD).
He indicated that there are “clear critical points” in the eastern region of the continent, where the problem is worsening at a faster rate, including the horn of Africa.
This region has been in turmoil in recent years as a result of climate change and localized conflicts, among other factors, he stressed.
He explained that there is significant potential in the food security and resilience program to increase agricultural productivity and climate resilience in Africa, derived from the African leadership dialogue on food security that began in 2019.
This program includes adapting food systems to climate change, harnessing science and digital technology, and strengthening collaboration between development partners, Sacko said.
On the other hand, he emphasized the need to implement existing commitments on agriculture and food security, including the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration.
“It is well known that the food systems of Eastern and Southern Africa are among the most vulnerable in the world”, he stated, specifying that this sub-region is home to more than 656 million people, many of whom “are extremely poor and face great difficulties in accessing adequate, safe and nutritious food daily”.
MPA offers a pragmatic and adaptive approach to addressing food systems resilience that will enable the region to act on a range of challenges and opportunities cooperatively and effectively.
It will be implemented across a wide range of African countries that includes the participation of several regional organizations and other intergovernmental agencies.
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