New York, Mar 26 2010 1:10PM
Vietnamese experts will assist Chad enhance its food security by helping to improve irrigation for rice growing and boosting cereal production under a new scheme backed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/40998/icode/">FAO).
Activities that the 15 Vietnamese experts and technicians plan to take part in will also include artisanal fishing and food processing, all of which fall under Chad's five-year, $200 million National Programme for Food Security, designed with FAO's assistance.
The agency said today that it will provide technical assistance to the experts from the South-East Asian nation during the course of the two-year, tripartite South-South cooperation agreement.
Last year's harvest was a disaster in Chad, with the production of sorghum and millet, the main staple crops, having plummeted by 22 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.
Out of a total population of 11 million people in the African nation, 2 million are in need of food assistance, and both FAO and the UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) are ramping up efforts to reach the hungry.
Last month, FAO reported that Chad was one of 33 countries worldwide that are facing critical food insecurity due to a number of factors including prolonged drought, ongoing high food prices and conflict.
In its latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the agency stated that the presence of a large number of refugees, conflict and inadequate rainfall is driving hunger in the nation.
The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (<"http://cerf.un.org/">CERF) has also been involved in alleviating the plight of the hungry in Chad by allocating $3.75 million to the country so far this year, most of which is focused on the health and nutrition sectors.
Mar 26 2010 1:10PM
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