Issue Deep Dive
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Last updated: December 20, 2022
ODA Spending
ODA in Context
France’s total ODA to agriculture in 2020 was US$1.2 billion, making France 2nd largest OECD DAC donor to the sector in absolute terms.
Agricultural funding represented 7% of France’s total ODA in that year (DAC average of 6%) putting France at 13th in a ranking of DAC donors’ funding to agriculture relative to total ODA.
ODA Trends
France’s prioritization of agriculture increased since 2016, fluctuating between 6-7%. There was an 30% (US$288 million) increase in France’s agricultural ODA between 2019 and 2020.
ODA Breakdown
Bilateral Spending
In 2020, 73% (US$901) of France’s ODA for agriculture was provided bilaterally (DAC average: 41%), including 19% (US$234 million) in earmarked funding through multilaterals.
In 2020, bilateral agriculture ODA reached US$901 million, increasing by 56% compared to 2019 (US$579 million). This was mainly due to a significant increase in spending on agricultural development, from US$61 million in 2019 to US$362 million in 2020, or 40% of bilateral agriculture ODA. Other key sub-sectors include ‘agricultural research’ (17% of bilateral agriculture ODA), ‘rural development’ (15%), and ‘forestry policy and administrative management’ (10%).
Multilateral Spending and Commitments
France channeled 27% (US$334 million) of its ODA to health through multilateral organizations (DAC average: 47%) in 2020.
Funding & Policy outlook
According to France’s ‘International Strategy for Food Security, Nutrition, and Sustainable Agriculture (2019-2024)’, France has five main goals:
- Strengthening global governance of food security and nutrition;
- Developing sustainable agricultural and food systems (agroecology);
- Strengthening France’s action on nutrition, focusing especially on malnutrition in young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women;
- Restructuring sustainable agri-food sectors to promote job creation in rural areas with a focus on youth; and
- Strengthening food assistance actions for vulnerable populations and improving resilience to food insecurity, whether in emergency or chronic food insecurity contexts.
France has increasingly emphasized biodiversity, sustainable agro-systems, and the broader nexus of agriculture and adaptation to climate change. Against this backdrop, ODA to the agriculture sector could increase in coming years, driven by higher funding for adaptation.
Climate Change Adaptation
In response to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Macron announced the launch of the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative in March 2022, alongside the European Union, G7, and the African Union, to tackle food insecurity in vulnerable countries. In 2023, France allocates €75 million (US$85 million) to FARM.
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Mareike Fürst
Mareike Fürst
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