FAO and EU Food Facility.  Ex-Post Economic Impact Assessment

FAO and EU Food Facility. Ex-Post Economic Impact Assessment

Descripción

In 2007-2008, agriculture commodity prices skyrocketed worldwide. The 2009 financial crisis extended the global recession. As of 2012, prices continue to remain higher than at pre-crisis levels and trends are marked by volatility. These shocks have had both short- and long-term adverse affects on the earning capacity and prospects of the poor, especially net food buyers. The combined effect of the high food prices and the global financial crisis of 2009 have driven an estimated 105 million peopl e into hunger and malnutrition. Although the effects have been pronounced in urban areas, of the 1.1 billion people living in poverty, an estimated 70 percent reside in rural areas and depend on the productivity of ecosystems for their livelihoods1. Many of these rural poor are smallholder farmers whose opportunities to benefit from higher food prices are constrained by a lack of access to inputs, such as improved and quality seeds, chemicals, fertilizers and adequate mechanization, as well as a ppropriate technical advice and access to markets. The European Union (EU) allocated EUR 1 billion for a food price crisis response facility to deliver emergency assistance in a manner that would provide immediate relief for those adversely affected by high food prices and improve the capacities of vulnerable rural people to: (i) increase agricultural productivity; (ii) generate more income; and (iii) secure livelihoods against future food price shocks. The idea was to support effective transiti ons between humanitarian action and development processes, focusing on programmes that would have both a rapid and lasting impact on food security.