EU gives FAO €3.4 million to improve food security

The EU has given the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) a total of €3.4 million (US $3.7 million) to the to help the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) improve food security nationwide via three projects, the UN agency reported on Friday. The first, valued at €1.45 million, aims to help the Institut national pour l'etude et la recherche agronomiques (INERA - the national institute for agronomic study and research) carry out research and development and help farmers produce greater yields from their manioc crops. The project will target producers in six of the nation's 11 provinces, namely Bas-Congo, Kinshasa, Kasai Occidental, Kasai Oriental, North Kivu and South Kivu. The second, valued at €1.06 million, seeks to reach a total of 30,000 households, or 5,000 households each, in conflict frontline areas of Equateur Province and in the regions of Goma, Kabinda, Kalemie, Kananga, and Kisangani. The programme will also support government services for the coordination of emergency agricultural operations and the restart of agricultural production. The third, valued at €900,000, is geared towards improving the food security of 45,000 households in conflict front-line areas through the distribution of agricultural and fishing supplies and the implementation of an information collection and evaluation mechanism. Primary beneficiaries will include households with malnourished children, internally displaced persons, returned refugees, households headed by women, children, and the elderly, and households affected by HIV/AIDS. On 18 January, FAO signed an agreement with the DRC government for the provision of US $777,000 in support of the country's agriculture and forestry sectors.