The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group endorsed a $10.54 billion Food Security Response Program (FSRP) package that will support member countries in addressing the ongoing food crisis and, most importantly, strengthen their resilience to future food security shocks. The package was approved during a special joint meeting of the IsDB Board of Executive Directors, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), and the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC).
Including new approvals worth $4.0 billion and fast-tracking existing projects worth $1.7 billion, the IsDB will provide up to $5.7 billion in total financing to member countries. In addition, as part of its “One Group-One Goal” approach, the program involves significant and direct contributions by IsDB Group entities as follows: (i) International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC): $4.5 billion in trade financing; (ii) Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector ( ICD): $269 million in private sector development operations; (iii) ISFD: $75 million in loans, grants, and capital resources; and (iv) ICIEC: $500 million in political and credit insurance coverage.
With the support of the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBi), the IsDB Group can make effective and impactful decisions based on data, analytics, and evidence. It is anticipated that the financing package will provide immediate funding of up to $3.2 billion (over the coming 18 months) for short-term interventions that will provide emergency food and agricultural supplies as well as social protection and livelihood support to the most vulnerable.
Over the next three years, the remaining $7.3 billion will be utilized to develop innovative medium- and long-term interventions to address structural weaknesses and root causes of food insecurity among member states. Among them are: low productivity, rural poverty, climate change, and weak resilience of regional and national agricultural and food systems. These initiatives include: (i) building agricultural resilience to climate change; (ii) food and input value chains; (iii) smallholder productivity and market access; (iv) rural livelihood support; (v) livestock development; and (vi) building resilient food supply systems. Currently, the IsDB Group has financed 1,538 projects in agriculture and food security, totaling $20.6 billion.
