France backs PH food security program with €200M funding

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has secured 200 million euros in financing from French development agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to finance the government’s food security project for low-income families.

The amount is equivalent to around P14.03 billion.

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In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the funding will support the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers (REFUEL) Project.

The project aims to strengthen the Walang Gutom Program and plans to provide monthly electronic food vouchers worth P3,000 to 750,000 low-income households across 22 provinces by 2027.

The program will also provide beneficiaries with support on maternal and child nutrition, proper hygiene, healthy meal planning and income-generating opportunities.

AFD will contribute to the P74-billion total project cost, which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also supports.

Earlier, DSWD said the government had earmarked P1.9 billion in the General Appropriations Act for the project, an amount sufficient to serve only around 50,000 beneficiaries for one year.

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The additional financing will allow the government to expand the program’s coverage as it seeks to address food insecurity and undernutrition among vulnerable households.

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“Vulnerable families will have direct, dignified, and timely access to nutritious food. By digitizing this process, we ensure that assistance is both transparent and highly efficient,” Finance Secretary Frederick Go said in his remarks at the ceremonial exchange of financing agreements. /pai