U.S. Pledges $50 Million to Support Egypt’s Food Security

The US government pledged $50 million (EGP 947 million) to support Egypt’s food security as well as the smallholder farmers in the country to help offset the severe global consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the US embassy in Cairo on Sunday.

The US embassy in Cairo said that the US President Biden made the pledge during his bilateral meeting with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Jeddah on the sidelines of the GCC+3 summit.

The embassy added that this pledge is subject to congressional approval.

“Building on more than 40 years of partnership and over $1.4 billion in US assistance to Egypt’s agricultural sector, the US government stands in solidarity with the people of Egypt at this crucial moment, as Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine threatens the prosperity and livelihoods of Egyptians,” US Charge d’ Affairs Nicole Shampaine said, noting the depth of the US support to the Egyptian agricultural sector.

Criticizing Russia for invading Ukraine, the US embassy in Cairo said that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has blocked Black Sea ports and disrupted agricultural supply chains.

“Russia has also destroyed grain storage facilities in Ukraine and prevented Ukrainian farmers from working their fields by attacking their communities and their land,” the US embassy in Cairo said, adding that this has resulted in higher food prices and rising food insecurity globally.

The US embassy said that to address these consequences, the US is providing funding to more than 47 countries and regional organizations, including Egypt, to save lives through emergency interventions that will mitigate further increases in poverty, hunger and malnutrition due to the rising price of food, fertilizer and fuel.

“The US government has provided technical assistance to more than 500,000 Egyptian smallholder farmers, improving their farm management techniques and access to financial services,” the US embassy’s statement read.

“In the past 20 years, the US government’s global hunger and food security initiative and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have helped Egypt increase its agricultural export revenue by 1,500 percent,” the US embassy continued.

The $50 million pledge comes after the European Union (EU) announced that they had allocated €100 million in immediate relief to encourage investments in Egypt's agricultural sector and secure the country's food needs during the global grain crisis.