The UN has set aside $75 million to help fight hunger in some of the world's poorest countries.
The money will be doled out through a new program called the Business Investment Fund for Agriculture and Food Security (BIFT), AgFunder reports.
The idea is to make it easier for farmers and food producers in some 77 low-income countries to get the financing they need to grow crops and feed their families.
"For this cadre of profit-oriented financiers, smallholder farmers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (M) in the agricultural sector, are too risky and too costly to serve," says Felipe Dizon, acting program manager for the UN's Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
"We must urgently address market gaps in financing high-potential but underserved segments of the agri-food sector in low-income countries."
According to a UN report released in July, 63% of low- and middle-income countries can't finance their food security, and countries with limited access had a 23.1% chance of undernourishment compared to 10.4% with moderate and 6.9% with high ability to access financing, AgFunder notes.
Of the $180 billion annual gap in the agricultural finance market, $65 billion is a shortfall for small and medium enterprises
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