PPP Put Together $10B to Enhance Food Security at COP28
One of the dire consequences of #ClimateChange is more frequent and intense weather phenomena which can destroy crops and put #FoodSecurity in jeopardy. Ki-moon is working to mitigate the effects of #ClimateChange on agrifood production.
“By placing #FoodSecurity at the heart of #COP28 discussions, we can foster sustainable development and resilience in Africa. This requires collaboration on among nations, organisations, and stakeholders to enact comprehensive strategies that tackle these intertwined issues holistically. The Africa and Middle East SAFE Initiative between Africa and the Middle East is an example of collaboration to address the challenges of food security, climate change, and rural livelihood vulnerability.”
Global Green Growth Institute President Ban Ki-moon
During the 4th day of COP28, representatives from both the public and private sectors expressed strong support for the initiative. The President of the AfDB Dr Akinwumi Adesina recalled that Africa holds 65% of the available arable land in the world which provides the key to global #FoodSecurity.
Given Africa’s proximity to the Middle-East which is mostly desertic region, Africa can become the breadbasket to feed the Middle-East. Thus, the marked interest from the Middle-East countries and companies to partner with Africa to enhance #FoodSecurity.
In June 2023, the African Development Bank (AfDB) held a strategic outreach engagement around #FoodSecurity with the Arab Coordination Group which includes the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the OPEC Fund for International Development and other institutions.
“There is an urgent need to ease access for developing countries to climate finance and technology, and in particular taking into account the current levels of internal and external debt of the African countries. It is therefore important that we offer these countries investment opportunities. We capitalise on the Africa SAFE initiative as an approach to improve the lives of people in Africa in a sustainable and climate-resilient manner。”
Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Helm有el-Said
One of the areas of intervention between the various partners in Africa and Middle-East is the setting up and development of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (#SAPZ) in Africa. For that matter, the AfDB, IsDB and International Fund for Agricultural Development are co-investing USD 1.6 billion in such agriculture-centered #SEZ.
As part of the Scaling up Agricultural Food systems for Economic development (SAFE) initiative under the GGGI, the leaders of Africa and Middle-East will leverage Public-Private Partnerships (#PPP) to access both an enlarged pool of capital in order to raise at least USD 10 billion to implement climate-resilient agriculture.
The climate-smart agriculture includes technological advancements and modern methodologies as regenerative agriculture, integrated soil fertility management and solar-powered irrigation.