WORLD BANK / FOOD SECURITY RESPONSE

STORY: WORLD BANK / FOOD SECURITY RESPONSE
TRT: 03:20
SOURCE: WORLD BANK
RESTRICITONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 18 MAY 2022, WASHINGTON DC

SHOTLIST:

1. Tilt down, World Bank Group Headquarters
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“The Bank announced making available over the next 15 months a total of thirty billion to respond to the security crisis that we see today. This is really a crisis that is poised to get worse compared to the food price crisis in 2007-2008, affecting many, many poor households. We see already food insecurity at very high levels. To support, it will be used to protect poor households by scaling up social safety nets. It will help farmers to get ready for the next planting season. And it will also be used to make sure that export restrictions are avoided. And that food and food trade stay open, to avoid price increases.”
3. Various shots, World Bank Group Headquarters
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“The support is really geared to support those countries that are most vulnerable and affected by this food security crisis. And those are mainly countries in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Those are in a geographical context.”
5. Various shots, World Bank Group Headquarters
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“What countries need to do and they can take actually very important steps. First, they need to avoid adverse policies, avoiding export restrictions, because that will actually further increase the food prices that are already very high. They need to put in place an effective targeting mechanism to make sure that the support ends up in in the hands of the people who need it most, in the most vulnerable households. They need to make sure that they have effective coordination mechanism for effective implementation since the support and the response is multi-sectoral. And also they need to make sure that the short-term emergency measures do not compromise the longer term development agenda when it comes to green, resilient, inclusive development.”
7. Various shots, People walking in World Bank Group Building
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“What we see is that many countries are affected differently in different ways. There are many different transmission channels. For instance, there are countries that are directly dependent on imports from Ukraine and Russia. Then there are other countries that import cereals, not necessarily from Ukraine or Russia, but that are affected by the price increase of wheat and other cereals. And then of course, other countries that are affected by the huge increase in the price of fertilizers and the restricted availability.”
9. Tilt down, World Bank Group Headquarters

STORYLINE:

The World Bank on Wednesday (18 May) announced it is spending up to $30 billion as part of a comprehensive, global response to the ongoing food security crisis, in areas such as agriculture, nutrition, social protection, water and irrigation.

SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“The Bank announced making available over the next 15 months a total of thirty billion to respond to the security crisis that we see today. This is really a crisis that is poised to get worse compared to the food price crisis in 2007-2008, affecting many, many poor households. We see already food insecurity at very high levels. To support, it will be used to protect poor households by scaling up social safety nets. It will help farmers to get ready for the next planting season. And it will also be used to make sure that export restrictions are avoided. And that food and food trade stay open, to avoid price increases.”

SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“The support is really geared to support those countries that are most vulnerable and affected by this food security crisis. And those are mainly countries in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Those are in a geographical context.”

SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“What countries need to do and they can take actually very important steps. First, they need to avoid adverse policies, avoiding export restrictions, because that will actually further increase the food prices that are already very high. They need to put in place an effective targeting mechanism to make sure that the support ends up in in the hands of the people who need it most, in the most vulnerable households. They need to make sure that they have effective coordination mechanism for effective implementation since the support and the response is multi-sectoral. And also they need to make sure that the short-term emergency measures do not compromise the longer term development agenda when it comes to green, resilient, inclusive development.”

SOUNDBITE (English) Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Agriculture and Food Global Director, World Bank:
“What we see is that many countries are affected differently in different ways. There are many different transmission channels. For instance, there are countries that are directly dependent on imports from Ukraine and Russia. Then there are other countries that import cereals, not necessarily from Ukraine or Russia, but that are affected by the price increase of wheat and other cereals. And then of course, other countries that are affected by the huge increase in the price of fertilizers and the restricted availability.”

This financing will include efforts to encourage food and fertilizer production, enhance food systems, facilitate greater trade, and support vulnerable households and producers. The majority of resources going to Africa and the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and South Asia.