Minister Heydon announces international development and humanitarian funding of over €39 million

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, today announced international development assistance funding to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of €4.34 million for 2025 and the upcoming payment of Ireland's €35 million commitment to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for 2026.

Announcing the funding, Minister Heydon said:

"The 2025 State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report confirms that global hunger remains at crisis levels, with over 670 million people still hungry and more than two billion unable to afford a healthy diet. Ireland stands with those communities and our multilateral partners WFP and FAO, ensuring that this funding supports local agri-food systems, nutrition, and resilience. Agriculture remains central to achieving the shared goal of ending hunger and malnutrition.

Hunger is driven by conflict, climate shocks, and economic pressure. Food insecurity remains well above pre-pandemic levels, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Ireland's funding to WFP and FAO responds to this reality. It delivers life-saving assistance now, while strengthening sustainable food systems where the need is greatest."

WFP Executive Director, Ms Cindy McCain, acknowledging Ireland for its continued support and commitment to WFP said:

"Ireland has been a longstanding and committed partner to WFP as we work together to meet unprecedented humanitarian needs. These increased contributions will bolster our ability to deliver lifesaving aid to the millions threatened by starvation due to conflict, extreme weather and economic instability. As Ireland prepares to assume the Presidency of the EU Council in 2026, our collaboration is more important than ever to ensure that support for effective humanitarian assistance remains high on the global agenda in the coming year."

Notes to editors

The total international development assistance of €39.44m represents Ireland's continued commitment to addressing global hunger and malnutrition through targeted, practical interventions, delivered in partnership with trusted multilateral and international organisations. Funding will support both emergency food assistance and longer-term measures to strengthen sustainable agri-food systems and rural livelihoods. 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, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a specialised UN agency leading global efforts to defeat hunger, improve nutrition, and ensure food security by fostering sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries

Global Hunger Statistics (2025)

Global prevalence - 673 million people were undernourished in 2024, equal to 8.2 per cent of the global population. Hunger declined marginally overall but continues to worsen in Africa and Western Asia.

Acute food insecurity - 295 million people across 53 countries faced acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+) in 2024. This is around 14 million more than in 2023, with over 35 million in Emergency (Phase 4).

Catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) - Nearly 2 million people experienced Catastrophe (Phase 5) hunger, the highest level on record. More than 1.1 million were in Gaza, with smaller but critical populations in Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali.

UN World Food Programme (WFP)

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 WFP-Ireland Strategic Partnership Agreement 2025-2027 contains a commitment from Ireland to provide funding of €105 million. The 2026 payment of €35million to be made shortly includes a €5 million 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 of €6 million to the WFP Syrian emergency response. The balance of €14 million is unearmarked fully flexible funding. In addition to DAFM's core funding to WFP, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through Irish Aid, also provides funding to WFP. In 2025 Irish Aid funding to WFP was over €13 million, including support for activities in Gaza, Uganda, Tanzania and Ukraine.

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Funding of €4.34 million for FAO in 2025 comprises Ireland's annual subscription of €2.02 million, as well as funding of €2.32m for specific FAO projects and programmes.

FAO is a United Nations organisation mandated to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, make agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable, enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems and increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises. Further details of the partnership between Ireland and the FAO are outlined in the report FAO + Ireland: Partnering for a Peaceful, Equal and Sustainable World which is available at: FAO and Ireland celebrate collaboration and renew commitment to partnership.

Key FAO projects funded in 2025

• Emergency Food Production in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa - Haiti

Ireland's support will enable rapid restoration of food production in Haiti's Grand Sud following Hurricane Melissa, which devastated crops, livestock and fisheries and affected 1.45 million people. Targeted food production kits and technical assistance will allow 1,200 vulnerable households to re-establish livelihoods within 90 days, reducing reliance on food assistance and supporting local markets. The intervention prioritises women-headed households and delivers strong value for money through a coordinated FAO-WFP approach, combining cash transfers with restored production capacity.

• The Right to Food in conflict-affected and protracted crisis contexts

The project strengthens protection of the right to adequate food in conflict and protracted crises, where violations drive acute food insecurity affecting over 295 million people. It addresses weak accountability by clarifying legal standards, improving monitoring, and supporting rights-based responses in contexts such as Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar, Colombia, Chad, and Uganda. Outputs include legal analysis, country assessments, expert dialogues, and capacity building for states, civil society, and humanitarian actors to translate rights into practical action. The initiative aligns closely with Ireland's commitments on rule of law, humanitarian principles and resilient food systems delivering high policy impact.

• FAO Mountain Partnership - Empowering women in Pacific Small Island Developing States

The project empowers women-led producer organisations in Fiji, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands by linking traditional agriculture with sustainable tourism value chains. It expands income opportunities, improves market access, and strengthens climate resilience while addressing structural gender inequalities through a gender-transformative approach. Key outputs include a regional agri-tourism alliance, targeted business incubation and grants for women-led organisations, and stronger producer links with the hospitality sector. The initiative builds on proven Mountain Partnership models and aligns closely with Ireland's SIDS Strategy on gender equality, rural development, and climate-resilient livelihoods.

Africa Agri-Food Development Programme (AADP)

Funding of €99,000 was also provided this year under the Africa Agri-food Development Programme (AADP). The AADP is a joint initiative between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The objective of the AADP is to develop partnerships between the Irish Agri-Food Sector and African countries to support sustainable growth of the local food industry, build markets for local produce and support mutual trade between Ireland and Africa.

A Better World

This funding and the partnerships with WFP and FAO are within the framework of Ireland's policy for international development, "A Better World", the whole-of-Government policy for Ireland's development cooperation programme, on which DAFM works closely with Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs.