U.S., Japan, South Korea pledge additional funds to Global Agriculture and Food Security Program

On the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Tokyo on Thursday, Japan and South Korea each pledged an additional $30 million over three years for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), established in 2010 to help improve food security in low-income countries, Reuters reports (10/12). U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner "stated that the United States is prepared to contribute an additional $1 to GAFSP for every $2 contributed by other donors, up to a total U.S. contribution of $475 million, ... and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation indicated its intent to double its commitment," a World Bank press release states, adding, "The U.S. will also include the pledges made earlier this year -- from Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom -- in this challenge, bringing total financial commitments to GAFSP to date to $1.3 billion" (12/11). "U.S. President Barack Obama 'took the view that the durable solutions to crisis of chronic hunger had to be ... more than just delivering food aid. It had to be about promoting sustainable economic growth in agriculture,' Geithner said," according to the China Post (10/13).