FOOD SECURITY ACTION PLAN
The Food Security Action Plan is the OPEC Fund’s response to the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine on the global supply of food and fertilizers. Ukraine was one of the world’s largest producers of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, and Russia used to be the largest exporter of fertilizers. The ensuing supply disruptions have caused a “global hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions [where] as many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night”, according to the UN World Food Programme.
The particularly sharp impact felt in many partner countries of the OPEC Fund prompted a swift response. The Food Security Action Plan, adopted in June 2022, was one of the first initiatives of its kind by an internation- al organization. The initial volume of US$1 billion for the period 2022-2024 was soon afterwards multiplied, when the Arab Coordination Group, of which the OPEC Fund is a member, launched a US$10 billion food package. The OPEC Fund’s Food Security Action Plan identifies immediate, medium and long-term needs and focuses on three interrelated priorities:
The Plan finances programs that address the cross-cutting challenges to food security and provides financing through public and private sector loans as well as grants to partner countries and clients whose food security is endangered. The initial timeline runs from 2022-2024, but developments are being carefully monitored and will inform follow-up actions. While making a sizeable contribution from its own resources, the OPEC Fund is aware that resolving the food supply crisis will need decisive and coordinated interventions from the international community. One example of this approach is the Emergency Food Security Project in Jordan, where the OPEC Fund is joining forces with the Islamic Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a US$430 million package that provides short-term financing of imports and long-term structural investments.
1. Sustainable food systems that can withstand negative impacts on value chains;
2. Agricultural commodity supply chains; and
3. Sustainable production and con- sumption.
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