IMF loans Burkina Faso $80.7m to address global food crisis impact

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has loaned Burkina Faso $80.7 million to help the West African country surf the impact of the global food crisis.

“Food insecurity in Burkina Faso has increased significantly owing to deteriorating security conditions, which led to the displacement of about 2 million people; unfavorable climate events; supply-chain disruptions following the COVID-19 pandemic; Russia’s war in Ukraine; and increasing prices for food and agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and seed. As a result, about 16 percent of the population is in acute food insecurity conditions,” IMF said in a statement.

The disbursement, accounting for 50 per cent of Burkina Faso’s IMF quota, comes under the Food Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

Burkina Faso is largely dependent on its agriculture sector but the country, dogged by several years of terrorism-caused insecurity, is facing an acute food shortage, leaving thousands in food crisis.

In February, the African country also signed 10 agreements for financing six projects with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of $184 million.

Three projects will help develop corn, soy, poultry and fish value chains to strengthen food and nutrition security and address gender inequalities as well as support farmers to increase food production.

Three other projects target the integrated development of maize, soybean, poultry and fish value chains and resilience (PIMSAR), the emergency project to strengthen agricultural production in Burkina Faso.