ODA Spending

How much ODA does Canada allocate to agriculture?

Canada was the eighth-largest donor to agriculture in absolute terms in 2023, amounting to 3.5% of total ODA. Canada aims to enhance WEE and promote green growth through its investments in agriculture.

How is Canadian agricultural ODA changing?

The 46% increase in funding for agriculture between 2019 and 2020 was driven by enormous growth in earmarked funding to multilateral organizations. This growth may be related to the Canadian government’s commitments to agriculture as part of its effort to temper the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on global agriculture systems and food security. While growth in 2021 was minor relative to 2020 agriculture saw an absolute increase in 2022, reflecting Canada's continued commitment to mitigating global food insecurity.

How does Canada allocate agricultural ODA?

Bilateral Spending

In Canada’s FIAP, agriculture falls mainly under the action area ‘growth that works for everyone.’ The policy frames food security and agriculture within the larger lens of WEE and gender-inclusive climate change mitigation. In line with its prioritization of climate-smart agriculture, this sector received the largest share (43%) of Canada’s climate-related commitments in 2021 (see sector: ‘Climate’).

Multilateral Spending and Commitments

Canada's multilateral commitments to agriculture increased significantly in 2022, rising from US$53 million (17%) in 2021 to US$268 million in 2022 (51%). This is largely due to a sizable contribution to the GCF in 2022 and increased contributions to other multilaterals.

Funding & Policy Outlook

What is the current government's outlook on agricultural ODA?

Canada announced funding for several new initiatives in the agriculture sector at the G20 Summit in September 2023, totaling US$75 million. This included:

• CAD63 million ( US$46 million) to support climate change adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa by helping to build climate-resilient economies, protect and increase biodiversity, and empower women and girls;
• CAD8 million ( US$6 million) to develop inclusive agricultural value chains in Bolivia to improve resilience for vulnerable Indigenous populations in the face of climate change and food insecurity;
• CAD16 million ( US$12 million) to help finance and grow women-led agricultural enterprises in Nigeria; and
• CAD15 million ( US$11 million) to help bolster food security in the Democratic Republic of Congo and increase incomes for women in the agricultural industry.

Canada also announced new funding in the agriculture sector at the G7 Summit in June 2024, totaling CAD200 million ( US$154 million) to the IFAD. This included:

• CAD100 million ( US$77 million) to reduce poverty and food insecurity while strengthening climate resilience, with a focus on poor, vulnerable, and rural communities; and
• CAD100 million ( US$77 million) as a repayable contribution to IFAD’s Private Sector Financing Programme to support investments in the agricultural sector in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

Key bodies