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The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D. today announced the provision of a further €10m in funding for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), bringing total payments by his Department to WFP to €20m this year.

“This doubling of our untied aid to WFP has been decided on by the Irish Government as part of our response to the current refugee crisis, including that arising from the conflict in Syria” the Minister said. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is the lead Department for the Irish Government’s relationship with the World Food Programme, the UN’s frontline agency in the fight against hunger.

“I announced in September at EXPO Milan that my Department would double its annual contribution of untied aid to WFP to €20 million a year for each of the next three years” Minister Coveney stated. “I have worked closely with the WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin for several years, and greatly appreciate the work of the WFP and the UN’s global campaign for zero hunger. Ireland is committed to the sustainable development of agriculture as a key to inclusive growth. Earlier this month, I saw for myself the valuable work WFP are doing in providing supplementary nutrition in Ghana.”

“This additional allocation brings total overseas development aid funding through my Department to almost €23m this year” Minister Coveney stated. “In addition to an annual subscription to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), I have allocated funding of €1m to specific projects under the auspices of FAO, including an allocation of €730,000 for an FAO project which will provide support to help vulnerable households affected by the Syria crisis in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey to improve their food security.”


Note to Editors

UN World Food Programme

WFP is a United Nations organisation responsible for the delivery of food assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world partnering with other United Nations agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector to enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food needs.

WFP is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, and is funded exclusively from voluntary contributions. The total funding of €20m provided by DAFM this year, while generally targeted at WFP’s emergency and protracted relief operations (core programmes) around the world, is provided on an un-earmarked basis which provides WFP with the flexibility to plan and target this funding in the most strategic, efficient and effective manner.
In addition to DAFM’s core funding of WFP, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also provides funding to WFP for crisis programmes in specific countries and regions.

Total ODA expenditure by DAFM 2015
WFP
World Food Programme contribution €20,000,000

FAO
FAO and related annual subscriptions €1,833,979
€1m for specific projects under auspices of FAO:
FAO - Response to the Syria Crisis €730,000
FAO - Inclusive Business Models €75,000
FAO - Food Losses in Africa €75,000
IPPC - International Year of Plant Health €25,000
FAO - LEAP (Livestock Environmental Assessment Partnership) €45,000
International Crop Trust Fund - Kenya National Genebank €50,000

AADF
Africa Agri-Food Development Fund (AADF) 62,500

Total ODA spend by DAFM 2015 €22,896,479