Africa: Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen at Green Climate Fund Agriculture Site read full article at worldnews365.me

U.S. Treasury January 24, 2023 African News Leave a comment 11 Views










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Thanks very a lot. It’s nice to be right here. This mission exhibits how our nations can associate to deal with two of probably the most important points dealing with Zambia and the world: meals safety and local weather adaptation.

At present, starvation and meals insecurity are exacting a heavy toll on communities around the globe, together with proper right here in Zambia. The variety of folks dealing with acute meals insecurity has risen to 345 million throughout over 80 nations. In Zambia, round 2 million folks face acute meals insecurity — and practically half of the inhabitants is unable to fulfill their minimal caloric consumption necessities.

International meals programs have been strained for a while by local weather change, regional conflicts, and COVID’s financial disruptions. Nowhere has this been extra obvious than in Africa. And this troublesome scenario has been exacerbated by Russia’s unlawful battle on Ukraine, which has additional confused meals, gas, and fertilizer costs internationally. Russia’s battle has reduce off vital provides of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil destined to international markets, together with in Africa, resulting in shortages and value spikes. Greater international vitality costs raised delivery prices for meals and different commodities, squeezing cash-strapped nations. And a surge within the value of fertilizer has damage agricultural output in communities throughout Africa.

The primary to be hit laborious are the world’s poor – in america as nicely, however notably in growing nations in Africa and elsewhere. Merely put, Russia’s unprovoked battle of aggression towards its neighbor has damage Africa by exacerbating current meals insecurity and creating an pointless drag on the continent’s financial system.

Throughout final month’s Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, President Biden and I met with African heads of state to debate how we will redouble our efforts to strengthen meals safety. At present, I need to communicate to the actions we’re taking to reply to the pressing meals safety disaster. I’d additionally like to talk to our long-term partnership with African nations to construct extra resilient meals programs. Our aim is to get to a spot the place the necessity for humanitarian help is outstanding and uncommon. And we need to advance a future the place Africa participates extra absolutely in international meals and fertilizer markets and provide chains.

The USA is taking robust and fast actions to alleviate starvation. Final 12 months, america dedicated $13 billion in humanitarian and meals safety help throughout the globe. This contains President Biden’s announcement final month of $2 billion in emergency, lifesaving help in Africa.

We’ve additionally rallied nations and worldwide organizations to keep away from export restrictions and impediments to humanitarian help supply. It will be significant that meals and different important provides can circulate extra freely. The USA has made certain to exempt meals and key agricultural commodity exports from its sanctions packages to additional allow their circulate onto international markets.

And we’ve labored with companions to facilitate Ukrainian meals exports by means of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, together with shipments sure for Africa.

And with our companions, we’re main efforts to stabilize international vitality costs by introducing a cap on the value of Russian oil. This coverage maintains flows of discounted Russian oil – serving to mitigate additional value shocks on rising economies whereas additionally decreasing Russian revenues.

Whereas the coverage is within the early levels of implementation, Treasury estimates that it might lead to round $6 billion in annual financial savings for the 17 largest web oil-importing African nations.

We’re additionally working with worldwide monetary establishments to surge and scale their meals safety efforts. Final April, I convened a “call to action” with the heads of those establishments and representatives from the G7 and G20 to spur coordinated international motion. The World Financial institution is implementing as much as $30 billion in initiatives — together with $12 billion in new programming — to reply to the meals safety disaster. The African Improvement Financial institution continues to advance a $1.5 billion facility to deal with the meals disaster in Africa. This facility is projected to profit 20 million African smallholder farmers. With new seeds and fertilizer, these farmers can be higher ready to quickly produce as much as 38 million tons of wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans to fulfill the calls for of the continent.

As we sort out acute wants now, we should additionally take an extended view and scale up funding in long run meals system resilience. Africa is an ideal instance of those twin challenges. It’s a continent that faces acute meals wants. However it’s one which additionally has the potential not solely to feed itself but additionally to assist feed the world – if the appropriate steps are taken. For instance, Zambia’s maize manufacturing has the potential to show it right into a regional meals hub.

Underneath President Biden’s management, america introduced a U.S.-Africa strategic partnership on meals safety on the Africa Leaders Summit final month. We are going to work collectively to enhance Africa’s entry to international agricultural commodity markets and meet its rising demand for fertilizer. And we are going to promote efficient agricultural practices and approaches, together with strengthening local weather resilience.

Let me communicate for a second particularly on local weather. We all know that over the past decade, storms, floods, and droughts in Africa have elevated in severity and frequency. This has damage agricultural yields. The identical is true globally as nicely. Certainly, farmers – like those we work with right here – are sometimes the primary witnesses of the altering local weather and its penalties. They know that local weather change isn’t just a future menace; it’s already right here.

We should take pressing motion to adapt agricultural practices and know-how to the altering local weather. The mission we’re visiting at the moment helps small-scale farmers higher handle the impacts of local weather change. It’s funded by the Inexperienced Local weather Fund, which america is proud to be part of. We’re dedicated to creating certain that the Fund has adequate assets to hold on this vital work. We’re additionally advancing local weather adaptation by means of our newest $155 million contribution to the International Agriculture and Meals Safety Program. We’re prioritizing revolutionary initiatives, akin to offering farmers with new seeds which might be extra resilient to droughts, warmth, and different excessive circumstances. Already at the moment, two-thirds of the Program’s initiatives are climate-related.