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Through CEI Fund at the EBRD: Italy amongst major contributors to Private Sector for Food Security Initiative

The EBRD Private Sector for Food Security Initiative gives voice to private sector needs and facilitates the private sector’s contribution in the process of setting priorities for global food security. The Initiative was launched in November 2011 and is led by the EBRD Agribusiness Department and the Office of the Chief Economist.
 
As stated in the EBRD Report 2013, Italy, through the CEI Fund at the EBRD, is amongst the major contributors to the Initiative. Other donors include the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (SSF), the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility (EU NIF), the SEMED multi-donor account (MDA), the Early Transition Countries (ETC) Fund, and the country of Luxembourg.
 
In this framework, the CEI Fund supported two technical cooperation projects targeting Ukraine: one provided training to grain farmers and the other focused on policy dialogue in the dairy sector.
 
The CEI Fund at the EBRD contributed to initiating EastAgri along with the EBRD, FAO and the World Bank. Created in 2002, EastAgri is a platform for sharing information and best practices between the public sector and private institutions supporting agriculture and agribusiness in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
 
According to the EBRD Report 2013, in the coming year EBRD’s Agribusiness team will focus on addressing specific financing needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), placing more emphasis on smaller countries across the EBRD region of operations, and improving food quality and safety standards.
 
During 2014 the Private Sector for Food Security Initiative will focus primarily on responding to price volatility by improving access to finance; improving policy transparency through public-private platforms; linking exporters and importers to enhance global supply and demand chains; linking water and food production for resource efficiency and sustainability.
 
Through investments, technical cooperation and policy dialogue, the Private Sector for Food Security Initiative enables the private sector to fully contribute to food security in the EBRD countries of operations. The main priorities of the Initiative are to facilitate access to finance, improved policy transparency, create links between food exporters and importers, achieve an efficient use of resources, IFI coordination, and capacity building for agribusiness.
 
 
For more information: dovier@cei.int

 

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