OL2205 "Food security"

This course was developed to raise awareness of food security and the major role that agricultural finance can play. Indeed, in an international context of multiple shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21, the war in Ukraine in 2022, and soaring energy and fertilizer prices, the pressure on food security has worsened globally and concerns all countries. To respond to these new challenges, agriculture, and more specifically increasing agricultural productivity, the promotion and strengthening of regional value chains and the resilience of producers to climate change are at the heart of national and international concerns and are supported by the private sector and donors such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

This course will provide you with an understanding of current food security and agricultural issues and how mobilizing private sector financing and value chain financing mechanisms can help mitigate current challenges.

This course consists of four lessons. The first part of the course (the first two lessons) presents the current agricultural and food system and the second part of the course provides tools on financing the agricultural sector.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Understand the issues of food security and the links with agriculture
• Understand how agricultural value chain finance can be used to finance agriculture
• Identify and assess the benefits of the different mechanisms available to finance value chains
• implement a financing strategy for an agricultural sector