World Bank earmarks US$500M for Egypt’s agriculture sector

The loans will see the establishment of the Emergency Food Security and Resilience Support Project, which aims to reduce the global impact of the conflict in Ukraine on food and nutrition security in Egypt.

The Russian Federation and Ukraine are the world’s largest wheat exporters, and the war has driven up prices and created nutritional shortfalls, particularly for people who rely on bread for their daily nutritional needs.

National reforms

As per Egypt’s national reforms to reclaim more agricultural land and transform the sector which is a major driver of the economy and provides for 57% of the population the project will finance the public procurement of one-month’ supply of imported wheat for the Bread Subsidy Programme, which supports around 70m low-income Egyptians, including approximately 31m people living under the national poverty line.

The project will also support national efforts to reduce waste and loss in the wheat supply chain through upgrading and expanding climate-resilient wheat silos, sustainably improving domestic cereal production, and strengthening Egypt’s preparedness and resilience to future shocks.