FAO announces assistance to boost food security in conflict zones

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a $34,4 million (about R620 million) contribution from the government of Japan to deliver muchneeded assistance to improve the food security and nutrition of people in conflict zones and in areas ravaged by natural disaster.

The contribution would fund 17 country and regional projects, including four in the Near East and North Africa (Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey and Yemen), the UN agency said in a statement.

Six of the projects would be in sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia and a multi-country project aimed at vulnerable pastoral communities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda); four in Asia and Oceania (Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka); and three in Europe (one in the Republic of Moldova and two in Ukraine).

The planned interventions would include emergency livelihood assistance to conflict-affected communities in Ethiopia and Yemen, as well as flood-affected communities in Pakistan. Support would also be provided to vulnerable herding populations in Afghanistan facing multiple climatic and economic shocks. In addition, recovery efforts would be made in drought-affected East African regions and support given to fishers in Gaza.

Rein Paulsen, director of the FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience, said: “In countries prone to weather extremes, natural resource limitations and conflict, rural people’s capacities to cope with multiple threats are being increasingly stretched. This contribution will help us to keep agriculture-dependent families on their feet by meeting their immediate needs.” –

FAO The FAO distributed potato and seed starter kits to locals in the village of Vodiane, Ukraine, last April. The UN agency now plans to provide spring seed support to nearly 3 600 smallholder farmers to restore agricultural value chains disrupted by the war.