Increasing Food Security - FAQs

What is CIDA's Food Security Strategy?
What is the new Canadian International Food Security Research Fund?
What kind of food security programming will CIDA be doing in developing countries?

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What is CIDA's Food Security Strategy?

Under Canada's Aid Effectiveness Agenda, the Government has identified three key international development priority themes for CIDA:

• increasing food security.
• securing a future for children and youth;
• stimulating sustainable economic growth; and

To achieve our goal of food security, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will focus on three paths:

• food aid and nutrition;
• sustainable agricultural development; and
• research and development.

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What is the new Canadian International Food Security Research Fund?

A key initiative in delivering long-term benefits for food security is the newly created Canadian International Food Security Research Fund.

The $62-million fund, jointly administered by CIDA and the International Development Research Centre, will have strong links to research networks in Canada, internationally, and with developing countries. Research will focus on finding practical solutions to food security challenges, such as crop resilience, nutrition and infectious diseases related to crops and animal production are potential areas of focus.

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What kind of food security programming will CIDA be doing in developing countries?

The Food Security Strategy focuses on three paths:

• food aid and nutrition;
• sustainable agricultural development; and
• research and development.

Under the food aid and nutrition path, CIDA is providing support to the United Nations World Food Programme for humanitarian assistance as well as the Purchase for Progress initiative in Ghana and Afghanistan. Purchase for Progress uses the organization's food procurement activities to create and enhance markets for food commodities grown locally by low-income or small-holder farmers. Building on the UN World Food Programme's existing successful local procurement program, this initiative provides farmers in the developing world with the opportunity to supply food for the organization's aid operations.

CIDA is also creating the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, to help developing countries to find food security solutions.

In agricultural development, we are supporting projects and initiatives to assist bilateral country partners and we are also working through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.