IsDB endorses $10.54 billion package for Food security

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group on Thursday endorsed a $10.54 billion comprehensive Food Security Response Program (FSRP) package that will support member countries in addressing the ongoing food crisis and, most importantly, scale up the Group’s continued efforts to contribute to strengthening its members’ resilience to food security shocks in the future.

The IsDB held an extraordinary joint meeting of the IsDB Board of Executive Directors, the Board of Directors of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) and Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by IsDB President and Group Chairman Dr Muhammad Al Jasser.

Comprehensive Package

As part of the IsDB Group comprehensive package, the IsDB will contribute up to %5.7 billion in total financing to member countries, comprising new approvals worth $4 billion and fast-tracking of disbursements for existing projects worth $1.7 billion.

In addition, as part of its “One Group-One Goal” approach, the program involves significant and direct contributions by IsDB Group entities as follows:

– ITFC: $4.5 billion in trade financing;

– ICD: $269 million in private sector development operations;

– ISFD: $75 million in loans, grants, and capital resources; and

– ICIEC: $500 million in political and credit insurance coverage. To complement the financial package of the IsDB Group, the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBi) will provide critical data, analytics, and evidence-based support for effective and impactful decision-making.

To jump-start the program, the financing package is expected to provide immediate financing of up to $3.2 billion over the next 18 months for short-term interventions by providing emergency food and agricultural supply and social protection and livelihood support to the most vulnerable populations.

Innovative Interventions

The focus of the program and the bulk of the financing envelope of the remaining $7.3 billion, which will span over the next three years, will be on developing innovative medium- and long-term interventions to address structural weaknesses and root causes of food insecurity in the member states.

These include low productivity, rural poverty, climate change, and weak resilience of regional and national agricultural and food systems through six key initiatives:

Building agricultural resilience to climate change; food and input value-chains; smallholders’ productivity and market access; rural livelihood support; livestock and fisheries development; and building resilient food supply systems.

The total IsDB Group’s financing support for agriculture and food security currently stands at $20.6 billion, comprising 1,538 operations, the IsDB added.