Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the funding that will be provided by Irish Aid in 2009 to support small holder and women farmers to intensify their agricultural productivity and produce more food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5235/09]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the pressure being placed on countries with food scarcity to adopt genetically modified food strategies. [5218/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 43 together.

The use of genetically modified (GM) food to feed the growing population in the developing world is a matter for the government of each developing country and we respect their decision. Ireland's support to the agriculture strategies of partner countries is provided within the context of the national policies of each country and in accordance with Ireland's aid policy of promoting local ownership of the development process.

I am fully supportive of helping small-holder farmers in developing countries to intensify their agricultural productivity and produce more food. Small-holder farmers are the backbone of the national economies of many of these poor countries and up to 80% of small-holder farmers in Africa are women. They have unequal access to land, little or no access to input and output markets, or to agricultural support services such as financial services and access to credit.

I am happy to report that Irish Aid is currently supporting, and will continue to support, small-holder and women farmers in our Programme Countries.

In Malawi, we help provide high yield varieties of potato and maize seed to small-holder farmers to help them become food sufficient throughout the year. We also promote conservation agriculture and crop diversification. This year we will provide financial assistance in support of the Government led agriculture inputs subsidy programme.

We support the Ministries of Agriculture in Tanzania and Mozambique in their efforts to promote intensification of small-holder agriculture through programmes designed to maximise access by women and the poor to land and other critical inputs and services including better access to seed, fertiliser, financial services and credit. We take the donor lead in the agriculture and rural development sector in Tanzania.

It is estimated that approximately €40 million will be allocated this year to the development of agriculture and to increasing agricultural productivity and long-term food security in developing countries. In addition to this direct investment in agriculture, significant resources are, and will continue to be, allocated to supporting programmes or projects which are indirectly related to increasing small-holder agricultural production. These include funding improvements in rural infrastructure such as roads, so as to provide better market access to farmers, and the provision of clean and reliable water sources.