The Board of Directors at the AfDB (African Development Bank) have reportedly approved a loan of USD 271 million to fund Egypt’s Food Security and Economic Resilience Support Program. The aim is to support initiatives to diminish the impact of the universal blows on the domestic economy from Russia-Ukraine war and to restore resilience.
As per credible sources, the initiative involves two main components: Building Private Sector and Fiscal Resilience and offering support for the Food Security Response.
Reportedly, the Food Security Response component will work to augment national agricultural productivity and lessen food security risks for those in vulnerable situations.
The program will also back broad-based growth by increasing agricultural productivity and sustainability by setting added incentives to persuade regional farmers to grow wheat and level up their share of subsidized fertilizers.
Furthermore, the Private Sector and Fiscal Resilience component will assist in enhancing the fiscal resilience and private sector of Egypt as a robust private sector can be instrumental in bringing down the social and economic impacts of the exogeneous setbacks.
Mohamed El Azizi, Director, North Africa at African Development Bank stated that the new operation combines structural measures along with emergency measures.
Azizi mentioned that the main objectives of the mission are to improvise flexibility of public finances and private sector and strengthen food security.
According to sources, the project comes via a multi-donor budget capital of USD 97.3 million for Egypt from other co-financiers and AfDB.
Additionally, the Board of Directors approved finances worth USD 173.7 million for the African Emergency Food Production Facility.
For the unversed, Egypt is the founding representative of the African Development Bank Group and started its lending operations in 1974. Ever since then, the bank has financed operations in agriculture, finance, social sectors, communications, infrastructure development in power, transport, sanitation and institutional as well as economic reforms.