Catholic Church launches food security programme

The Catholic Church this week launched a US $15 million project to ensure food security at household level for thousands of people living in 70 of Malawi's poorest villages. Programme Coordinator Nicholas Mbwakita told IRIN on Tuesday that the project to assist a total 23,000 households in the southern Chikwane and Phalombe districts was being funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project is being implemented by the Catholic Development Commission of Malawi (CADECOM) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The three-phase project aims to improve food security by providing inputs to subsistence farmers and teaching them new agricultural methods; providing special assistance to children with emphasis on health and proper nutrition, and to ensure special care for HIV/AIDS sufferers and AIDS orphans. "It is important that this project brings in the health elements, as part of an integrated approach towards sustainable food security," Mbwakita said. "In a year or two, we will start to assess its impact on the communities and extend it to other areas." USAID Country Director Kiert Toh described the project as "well-focussed and cost effective, especially considering the lack of adequate resources needed to target programmes for intended beneficiaries". Agriculture Secretary Andrina Mchiera pledged government support for the project. According to news reports, 90 percent of the country's 10 million people live in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming, but 60 percent lack food security.