Time & Date of Event 

11:00 AM to 12:30 PM on Tuesday, 8th of November 2022 

Event Overview 

IsDB Member Countries (MCs), along with significant parts of the world, are facing unprecedented food crisis. Food prices, particularly for cereal grains have been climbing steadily in the past few years and soared recently in the wake of Russia-Ukraine crisis. The current impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to sharply increase the food prices by 56.3 percent by the end of this year (2022), with prices expected to stay high till 2024. This is happening at a time when most countries have been experiencing loss of income, additional public expenditure and climbing poverty rates due to the prolonged pandemic.  

Climate change has been identified as one of the main factors exacerbating food insecurity, through low productivity and crop failures. The ongoing food crisis has indeed further exacerbated structural food insecurity in the most vulnerable and fragile or conflict affected MCs such as Syria and those in the Sahel region. The current crisis is particularly concerning for the IsDB MCs, 36 of which are net food importers. Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA MCs are the most exposed to increased food insecurity and malnourishment. Also, of the 47 Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs), 26 are MCs.  

As highlighted in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report on Adaptation, climate change has already caused substantial damage, and increasingly irreversible loss, in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal and open ocean marine ecosystems. This consequently poses a negative impact on economies, with adverse effects on food systems, gender and social equity. The scale of biodiversity loss due to climate impacts is extremely preoccupying, especially when we know what important role biodiversity plays in the provision of ecosystem services, food, and water security of a growing global population of almost 8 billion human beings.  

In response to the acute food insecurity which many IsDB member countries are experiencing, in magnitudes not seen since the 2010 global food crisis, the IsDB Group has approved a Food Security Response Program (FSRP) package with a total group financing of USD 10.54 billion. 

The funding will assist member countries in addressing both the immediate impact of the current crisis and underlying structural challenges to food and nutrition security in the medium to long term. Projects financed under the FSRP are planned to be programmed, approved and implemented over the coming 3.5 years (July 2022-December 2025).  

In the short term, the Group will avail USD 3.2 billion to support much-needed emergency food, social protection, and agriculture inputs to increase location production of key staple crops and livestock. While in the medium to long term (over the next three years), the Group will provide USD 7.3 billion to support MCs build and strengthen the resilience of food systems to withstand future shocks. Some of the key areas of support under the medium to long-term track include: strengthening production systems, promoting climate-smart agriculture, support to commodity value chains, building national strategic buffer stocks/reserves, and strengthening livelihoods for the most vulnerable.  

The FSRP is in line with the IsDB’s realigned Strategy for 2023-2025, which is addressing climate change, as a crosscutting area, with one of the strategic objectives being Driving the Green Economic Growth of its Member Countries. This will be supported by investments in building sustainable, green, and resilient infrastructure (e.g., water, sanitation, electricity, transport, and urban and rural development). Moreover, as part of its 2020-2025 Climate Action Plan, the IsDB has committed to ensuring that 35% of its financing to go towards climate change mitigation and adaptation, in alignment with SDG 13, by 2025, as well as the objectives of the Paris Agreement. 

Event Outcomes 

• Increased awareness of the ways climate threats are impacting IsDB Group member countries agricultural and food systems  
• Increased understanding of how the Food Security Response Programme of the IsDB Group will help establish climate resilient food systems in member countries  
• IsDB Group entities’ commitment on climate action will be showcased  
• Increased knowledge of the financial instruments and innovative mechanisms available at IsDB Group to support its member countries in tackling climate change and food insecurity