Press Releases
USAID Announces $160 Million Global Food Security Response for West Africa Mali to Benefit from Additional Funding
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that an additional $160 million has been allocated to support immediate measures and long-term investment plans to revitalize the agricultural sector in West Africa. The funding, which augments the estimated $24 million of annual funding for West Africa, comes as part of the U.S. Government’s response to rising food prices in the region.
The announcement was made at discussions held on February 26 in Abuja, Nigeria, where ECOWAS met with donors to discuss progress towards completing African-endorsed agriculture investment plans. These plans are part of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) aimed at increasing agricultural growth and reducing poverty.
The U.S. Government will continue providing support for countries to complete the CAADP process. Global Food Security Response resources will support country and regional investment plan priorities. Countries involved in the CAADP process in West Africa include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo.
In Mali this funding will be used to provide technical support to the CAADP national team secretariat in its coordination role. It will also support the participation of the Malian technical team in national and regional meetings related to the development and implementation of the CAADP compact
Other activities supported by the increased funding will expand the humanitarian response to rising food prices and support critical agricultural and trade measures especially in the eight focus countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Niger, and Senegal. These measures will increase the competitiveness of staple food commodity value chains, increase trade efficiency of key transport corridors, increase the use of advanced agricultural technologies, and enhance the management of land and water resources.
Overall in Mali, the US Government has obligated an additional $20 million in funds for economic growth activities to strengthen agricultural productivity and increase food security. Programmed activities will work within a framework that includes three inter-related components: increasing agriculture productivity, increasing regional trade in food staples, and promoting sound market-based principles for agricultural growth. Programmed activities will be implemented in coordination with the Ministries of Agriculture, Malians Abroad and African Integration and the Food Security Commissariat.