Partners in the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), a new fund to increase agriculture productivity and reduce poverty, has announced that Mongolia, Ethiopia, and Niger will receive USD97 million in grants. The World Bank-managed fund allotted USD12.5 million to Mongolia, USD51.5 million to Ethiopia, and USD33 million to Niger.

The grants are aimed at helping each country increase food security, raise rural incomes and reduce poverty by enabling small-scale farmers to grow more crops and earn more. “These investments will improve access to better seeds and soil, build rural infrastructure and connect farmers to markets,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.

The GAFSP was officially launched in April. In late June the fund announced its first round of grants, totaling USD224 million , to five countries: Bangladesh, Haiti, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The fund is supported by the United States, Canada, South Korea, Spain and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Australia has recently joined the fund with a USD50 million contribution.