A new deal on the World Bank's lending to Africa on global food policy has been increased from 450 million U.S dollars to 800 million U.S dollars, the 2008 world report on agriculture has said.
According to the report released to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, the World Bank will create 1.2 billion U.S dollars rapid financing facility to the most needy countries and boost overall agricultural lending to 6 billion U.S dollars over the next year.
Under the new deal endorsed by more than 150 countries, the bank will embrace short, medium and long term responses, including safety nets such as school feeding, food for work, and conditional cash transfers.
It also includes agricultural production, understanding of impact of biofuel, and action on the trade to reduce distorting subsidies and trade barriers.
The bank will also provide 100 million U.S dollars to hard-hit Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Niger.
The money is to meet their additional expenses on food imports and to buy seeds for the new season.
The report said the bank will provide grant to Djibouti 58.5 million naira, Haiti 170 million naira and Liberia 170 million naira to feed poor children and vulnerable groups.
The deal includes irrigation and water management in Ethiopia, fertilizer use in Malawi, market access for smallholders in Senegal, and crop diversification in Mali and Uganda.
The bank will conduct needs assessments for countries affected by the crisis, involving Burkina Faso, Burundi, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Source:Xinhua
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