18 June 2012
Los Cabos, Mexico
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced Canadian support for AgResults – an innovative initiative which aims to improve food security in developing countries in close cooperation with the private sector. The announcement was made at the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, where Leaders recognized that food security for vulnerable populations is important to achieving sustainable and equitable growth and development.
"Canada is dedicated to helping ensure that people around the world have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods," said the Prime Minister. "The Canada-led initiative announced today will help to improve global food security by establishing a pay-on-results process that will encourage the private sector to find innovative solutions to address hunger in developing countries."
AgResults involves donors allocating relatively small amounts of public sector money to leverage private sector research and development on food security challenges that would otherwise go unaddressed due to market uncertainties. Public funds are only paid out to partners that demonstrate measurable results in targeted areas such as improving harvest management and nutritional fortification of staple foods. Commonly known as an advanced market commitment, this type of approach emphasizes accountability and innovation.
This pay-on-results approach is not new to Canada. Canada was instrumental in an earlier $1.5 billion advance market commitment that generated a vaccine against pneumococcal disease in developing countries, with the first vaccines delivered in late 2010. Canada made a significant contribution to this initiative.
AgResults builds on Canada's leadership in financing innovative development initiatives within the G-20. Canada has previously supported the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Finance Challenge, launched at the Toronto G-20 Summit in June 2010, and the private sector window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, launched in April 2010. Canada, with other G-20 Leaders, committed to exploring the potential of such mechanisms at the Toronto G-20 Summit, and is pleased to be following through on this commitment. Funds from donor countries will be managed by the World Bank.
