Accra, July 22, GNA – The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of US$ 271 million to finance Egypt’s Food Security and Economic Resilience Support Programme.
The intervention is part of the Bank’s efforts to ensure resilience and mitigate the impact of the global shocks from the Russia-Ukraine conflict on African domestic economies.
The support comprises a Food Security Response and Build Private Sector component, which seeks to increase national agricultural productivity and mitigate food security risks for people in vulnerable situations.
It intends to promote broad-based growth by increasing agricultural productivity and sustainability by setting additional incentives to encourage local farmers to grow wheat and increasing their share of subsidised fertilizers.
The support also has a Fiscal Resilience component, which is designed to enhance the financial resilience of Egypt’s private sector to reduce the economic and social impacts of the exogenous shocks.
Mr Mohamed El Azizi, AfDB Director General for North Africa said, “this new operation integrates emergency measures as well as structural measures. Its objectives are to strengthen food security and improve the resilience of the private sector and public finances.”
The support consists of the Bank’s multi-donor stand-alone US$ 97.3 million budget support for Egypt and the US$ 173.7 million African Emergency Food Production Facility approved by the Board of Directors in May 2022, among other co-financiers.
The Bank began its lending operations in 1974, and since then, the Bank Group has financed operations in infrastructure development, including transport, power, water supply and sanitation.
It has also financed projects in agriculture, communications, finance, industry, and social sectors as well as economic and institutional reforms and capacity building.
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution, which has three distinct entities that include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).
With its presence in 41 African countries and an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states, including Egypt as a founding member.
Source: Ghana News Agency
