The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has announced that his department’s international development assistance for 2020 totalled over €30 million.
This includes advance payment of Ireland’s 2021 commitment of €25 million to the United Nation’s (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) which won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
Minister McConalogue stated: “Ireland’s funding will help WFP provide life-saving assistance to people facing hunger and food insecurity. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected harvests, disrupted supply chains, and decimated the incomes of millions of households already living in poverty.
“The early payment of Ireland’s 2021 funding commitment will allow the World Food Programme the flexibility to target their humanitarian relief operations in the most effective way.”
WFP executive director David Beasley said: “The World Food Programme is grateful to the government and people of Ireland for their sustained support for our work.
This flexible annual contribution will allow us to reach some of the world’s most vulnerable people while scaling up our response to the Covid-19 pandemic. WFP appreciates our strong partnership with Ireland as we work together every day to achieve a Zero Hunger world.
Additional funding
In addition to Ireland’s annual subscription of €1.64 million to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Minister McConalogue also announced funding of €2.14 million for specific FAO projects.
These include improving food security for refugees in the conflict-affected area of the Lake Chad basin; enhancing surveillance and control of the desert locust invasion in Kenya; and support of the UN Food Systems Summit action track on access to safe and nutritious food.
Minister McConalogue commented: “This funding of food and agriculture projects, particularly in rural Africa, reflects the solidarity of farmers, fishers and food producers in Ireland with their counterparts in developing countries as they strive for food security for all.
Our commitment as a leader in sustainable food production must be assisting those nations who benefit from the World Food Programme. This support is a key tenet of our sustainability credentials.
Funding of €591,000 was also provided this year under the Africa Agri-food Development Programme (AADP), which supports partnerships between Irish and African agri-food companies.