The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, has signed a new three-year Strategic Partnership Agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
Minister Heydon signed the agreement, co-signed by WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, while attending WFP’s Executive Board meeting in Rome. It commits Ireland to providing €105 million in funding to the WFP, the world’s largest
humanitarian organisation, over the period 2025 to 2027. This represents Ireland’s biggest-ever financial commitment to the WFP, a 40% increase compared to the previous agreement.Minister Heydon emphasised Ireland's steadfast commitment to tackling global hunger and food insecurity, stating:
“This partnership underscores Ireland’s unwavering dedication to humanitarian assistance and sustainable development. By significantly increasing our support, we aim to bolster the WFP’s critical efforts in providing life-saving aid to those most in need."
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine leads Ireland’s engagement with the WFP, the UN’s frontline agency combating hunger and malnutrition.
World Food Programme (WFP), Executive Director, Cindy McCain said:
"We are grateful to the people and government of Ireland for their strong commitment to combating rising global hunger and food insecurity. Our new Strategic Partnership Agreement, backed by Ireland’s largest ever financial contribution to WFP, marks a significant milestone in our growing collaboration. Their support is more vital than ever, and will enable WFP to deliver lifesaving assistance to millions of the world’s most vulnerable people over the next three years.”
Minister Heydon, who also gave Ireland’s national statement at the Executive Board meeting added:
“As Ireland enters the final year of its term on the WFP Executive Board, this agreement reinforces its leadership role in global food security efforts. Ireland continues to advocate for effective, transparent, and needs-based humanitarian interventions.”
During his visit to Rome, Minister Heydon also held a bilateral meeting with Dr QU Dongyu, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to discuss shared priorities in sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate resilience.
Photo caption:
Image 1: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, with Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain signing the new three-year Strategic Partnership Agreement 2025-2027. ©WFP/Rein Skullerud.
WFP is a United Nations organisation responsible for fighting hunger worldwide and is funded exclusively from voluntary contributions. Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger, pledges to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, and is the priority of the WFP.
The Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) is the lead department for the Irish Government’s relationship with the World Food Programme, the UN’s frontline humanitarian agency. The WFP-Ireland Strategic Partnership Agreement 2025-2027 contains a commitment from Ireland to increase core funding to €105 million. This includes a €5 million per year allocation to WFP’s trust fund for hunger-related climate change; a €10 million annual allocation to WFP’s work in the Horn of Africa and a contribution in 2025 of €8 million to the WFP Syrian emergency response.
In addition to DAFM’s core funding to WFP, Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs also provides funding to WFP for its programmes. In the lifetime of the SPA 2022-2024 Department of Foreign Affairs funding to WFP was over €32.9 million in support of activities in Uganda, Mozambique, Syria, Lebanon, Tanzania, Madagascar, Lao PDR, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Gaza.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also leads Ireland’s engagement with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
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