Faced with an extreme economic contraction that left over 30% of the country’s workforce without full-time jobs, the World Bank’s recent move will boost the South Pacific nation’s recovery apart from creating economic, social, and climate resilience.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted a terrible cost on the economies of Small Island Developing States at a time when we need every resource available directed at building resilience to devastating climate impacts,” said Fiji’s Acting Minister for Economy, Faiyaz Koya.

The move underlined the UN food agency’s focus on expanding the use of global tools to advance climate action in food as well as agriculture. FAO’s GCF portfolio has risen to over $870 million, supporting some 15 projects.

“We appreciate the strong vote of confidence in FAO’s efforts for more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, and we welcome the GCF’s increasingly prominent role in that respect,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.

The United Kingdom will contribute nearly £1 million to assist victims of Typhoon Goni in the Philippines, and those affected by the destructive natural disaster in Vietnam, said FCDO Minister for Asia, Nigel Adams.

“The typhoons that have hit the Philippines and Vietnam have had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods across the region. Today’s £1 million UK aid package will help to deliver life-saving food, clean water and safe shelter to those who need it most and help both the Philippines and Vietnam recover from such destructive natural disasters,” FCDO Minister for Asia Nigel Adams said.

The financial aid will be utilized to provide clean water, shelter, food and support livelihoods for over 150,000 people in Vietnam and 80,000 in the Philippines.

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced up to an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face COVID-19-induced market disruptions.

Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) is scheduled to start from September 21st and run through December 11, 2020.

“America’s agriculture communities are resilient, but still face many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump is once again demonstrating his commitment to ensure America’s farmers and ranchers remain in business to produce the food, fuel, and fiber America needs to thrive,” said Secretary Perdue.

In order to help improve farmer livelihoods in India, the philanthropy arm of retail major Walmart Foundation announced two new grants totaling USD 4.5 million.

The new grants will help two NGOs – Tanager and PRADAN – to accelerate their efforts to help growers earn more from the better output and fair market access, the company said in a statement.

Both grantees will focus on increasing opportunities for women farmers via FPOs (farmer producer organizations).

“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on India’s farmers, especially women farmers shouldering extra responsibilities in the household while seeing their incomes diminish overnight. We at the Walmart Foundation and our grantee partners are focused on supporting farmers to increase their resilience and sustainability for a better future,” Kathleen McLaughlin, President, Walmart Foundation, said.

Farmers from the U.S. Southeast, mainly those cultivating crops like cotton or sorghum, got larger trade aid payments from the government in 2019, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office said.

Notably, the Trump administration rolled out several subsidy schemes to compensate growers for lost sales during the tariff war with China.

Although many farmers support the US Presidential, dissatisfaction from farmers in states like Wisconsin or Michigan might play a big role in upcoming presidential election.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the first-ever recipients of $4.1 million of its Urban Agriculture grants and cooperative agreements through its Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP).

“The applicants showcased the breadth of creativity in urban agriculture projects from non-profits, tribal and local governments, and schools across the US,” Under Secretary for marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach said.

The UAIP Competitive Grants Program gives support to a wide range of activities through two grant types – Planning Projects and Implementation Projects.

Activities include providing job training and education, operating community gardens, boosting food production and access in economically distressed communities, and developing business plans.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) has announced new financial relief programs for businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

It is to be noted that TDA has set up the Coronavirus Agricultural and Forestry Business (CAFB) Fund to help ensure stability of the food supply chain and agribusiness economy amid the pandemic.

Applications are accepted between August 17 and August 31, 2020.

Zimbabwe’s government has set aside $3 billion for the Presidential Input Support Scheme in order to ensure early procurement and distribution of farming inputs as food scarcity continue to plague the landlocked country.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the Government was footing a huge import bill to address food shortages and foreign currency inadequacies were causing food distribution interruptions.

The minister added government wants to ensure that farmers receive inputs early ahead of the cropping season to ensure they are fully prepared so as to have optimal utilisation of land which in turn will increase yield.

In order to avert a food crisis following last week’s explosion in Beirut, the United Nations will send grain to Lebanon. The World Food Programme will ship 50,000 tons of wheat flour to Beirut, enough to supply Lebanon for three months.

The explosion exacerbates the plight of the country, which has been battered this year by the COVID-19 pandemic and a financial meltdown.

“Grain silos have been mostly destroyed, causing fears of skyrocketing food prices,” the WFP said.