Mondo
Oxfam: EU sets to fudge €1 billion food package for poor farmers
People in poor countries spend up to 80% of their income on food, according to aid agencies.
di Staff
NGOs have largely welcomed an agreement reached by EU budget ministers and MEPs to provide €1 billion to the world’s poorest farmers over three years. The aid will be provided from three main sources:
– €420 million will be made available through the Union’s flexibility instrument;
– €240 million will come from the emergency aid reserve;
– €240 million from redeployed funds.
Oxfam complained that it had taken the EU five months to clinch the deal and urged governments to move quickly to make their pledges a reality. Oxfam hopes the fund will provide “a vital boost to help those hit hardest by the food crisis”.
At the same time, Oxfam stated that only two-thirds of the €1 billion pledge was “fresh money“, with the rest coming from the existing budget. Aid agencies voiced fears that EU states would simply divert this “new” money from their existing national development aid budgets due to pressure on their own national finances.
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