US to give $14.5 million worth of food aid

The United States is to fund a food aid programme in Cape Verde worth US $15.5 million over a five-year period, Thomas Gibb, country representative for the implementing NGO, ACDI/VOCA, told IRIN on Monday. Cape Verde, which produces less than a third of its maize requirements, imports 100 percent of other staples such as rice, and oil. "Cape Verde is a food deficit country. It imports most of its food and often is reliant on food aid," Gibb explained. "It is a Sahelian country - very dry - and very little agriculture goes on." The NGO, which plans to work closely with the archipelago's ministries of health and agriculture, plans to sell 85,625 mt of commodities, including maize, wheat, yellow and green peas, on a commercial basis in the country, he said. The proceeds - expected to total US $14.2 million, would be used for development activities, ACDI/VOCA (Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance) said in a statement on Monday. ACDI/VOCA said it also planned to increase the availability of agricultural products through natural resources management and to finance water conservation projects through rural associations. It also aims to promote the use of appropriate technologies such as drip irrigation. "By increasing horticultural production, consumers will benefit from increased variety of food addressing dietary needs. At the same time the farmer will be able to increase his or her income throughout the year," the statement added. Nutrition education will be introduced with the objective of promoting better dietary practices through awareness training, coordinated crop production and crop transformation, the NGO said. Four islands will be the central focus of the interventions: Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antao and Sao Nicolau. "These four islands have the greatest potential for impact on agricultural production and are home to 91 percent of the country's rural population," the statement said. The new five-year plan was apporved by the USAID office of Food for Peace last week. The agreement was signed last Wednesday by the US ambassador to Cape Verde and the country's foreign minister.