Obama’s African and Latin American Agriculture Plan Welcomed

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London: 30 April 2009 -- Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) , based in South Africa, today, welcomed the new American administration’s agriculture package, which will see $448m in new funding for African and Latin American agriculture.

Speaking at a policy briefing in London, Dr Sibanda said: ‘Africa has been asking: what will the Obama administration do for Africa? This ‘recovery’ package shows America is rising to the occasion. After a generation of neglecting agriculture, world leaders are recognizing we can only avert further food crises if we invest more in agriculture and farming in the developing world. I hope we maintain the momentum of the last month at the forthcoming session at the United Nations this week in New York.’

Dr Sibanda is also on her way to the final session of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development where she will be promoting a new approach to sustainable agriculture called ‘ Farming First ’.

In the past month alone, world leaders have reprioritized the role which agriculture plays in fixing the global economic downturn and preventing the threat of a future food crisis. These measures, which build on existing programmes such as Ban Ki Moon’s United Nations High-level Task Force on Food Security, seek comprehensive frameworks for action and include:

• At the G20 summit in London, President Barack Obama announce $448 million in new funding for African and Latin American agriculture by 2010, with a commitment to double funding for global agriculture and rural development to $1 billion by 2010.

• The G8 Agriculture Ministers convene for the first time in an historic session addressing food security and its impact on social and political stability worldwide. They also endorsed the Common Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) as a coordinated plan for future investment in African agriculture.

• The World Bank announces that it will triple its funding for agricultural infrastructure investment as part of a larger plan to stimulate the global economy. Funding will increase from $4 billion in 2008 to $12 billion in 2009 with agricultural investment in Africa rising from $450 million to $800 million, to Latin America rising from $250 million to $400 million, and support of more than $1 billion for new projects in agriculture and rural development in South Asia.

The ‘ Farming First ’ consortium is participating in the upcoming policy discussions at the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) at UN Headquarters in New York (4-15 May).

Farming First is a plan for action for food security and sustainable agriculture developed by the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), the International Science Council (ICSU), the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) and CropLife International. This policy platform encourages governments to invest in agriculture based on six key principles: 1-Safeguarding natural resources; 2-Sharing knowledge; 3-Build local access; 4-Protect harvests; 5-Enable access to markets; 6-Prioritize research imperatives.

The International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) is a not-for-profit trade association representing the global fertilizer industry. IFA member companies represent all activities related to the production and distribution of every type of fertilizer, their raw materials and intermediates. IFA's membership also includes organizations involved in agronomic research and training. IFA has some 525 members in about 85 countries. The global fertilizer industry produces some 170 million tons of fertilizer nutrients annually. These are used in every corner of the globe to support agricultural production and food security.

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For more information, please contact

Ms. Morgane Danielou, Head of Information and Communications IFA
Telephone: +33 1 53 93 05 33 - General: +33 1 53 93 05 00 - Fax: +33 1 53 93 05 47