FAO welcomes $34.4 mill contribution from Japan to boost food security

Addis Ababa, April 6, 2023 (FBC) – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has welcomed the $34.4 million contribution from Japan to boost food security and strengthen resilience in emergency contexts.

According to FAO, the interventions range from emergency livelihood assistance to support conflict-affected communities in Ethiopia and Yemen

It is stated that the contribution from the Government of Japan will help to deliver a wide range of assistance to improve the food security and nutrition of people in emergency settings, including internally displaced people, refugees and others affected by insecurity and natural hazards.

The contribution will fund 17 country and regional projects; including four in the Near East and North Africa (Lebanon, Palestine, Türkiye and Yemen); six in sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia and a multi country project aimed at mitigating the impact of drought for the most vulnerable pastoral and agropastoral communities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda); four in Asia and Oceania (Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka); and three in Europe (one in Republic of Moldova and two in Ukraine), FAO has stated.

“We are grateful to the Government of Japan for this generous and time-critical contribution,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience.

“In countries prone to weather extremes, natural resource limitations and conflict, rural people’s capacities to cope with multiple threats are being increasingly stretched, undermining their agricultural productivity and exacerbating their acute food insecurity levels, Rein Paulsen added.

It is disclosed that FAO’s work in Ukraine will receive more than $10 million to safeguard rural livelihoods and provide emergency seed support to smallholder farmers.