Ayiga Ondoga
2 December 2008
Kampala — THE World Food Programme (WFP) is going to buy sh197b ($100m) worth of foodstuff locally to support local farmers, Stanlake Samkange, the WFP country director, has said.
"I appeal to the people to produce enough food, which we are ready to buy. This will boost their income and improve their living standards," he said.
Samkange said the food would be distributed to vulnerable people as emergency aid.
"The food we shall buy will be used for general food distribution, school feeding, health and nutrition and in the food-for-assets programme in the north, Teso and Karamoja regions," he said.
Samkange was speaking during the distribution of foodstuffs donated by the Japanese government to the people of Karamoja, last week.
The exercise held at Lokopo sub-county in Moroto was witnessed by Japanese ambassador, Keiichi Kato, Moroto municipality deputy mayor, Margaret Lomonyang, Paska Napeyok, the district LC5 vice-chairperson, UN staff and district officials.
Samkange said the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had embarked on supporting the growth of Nerica rice in northern Uganda where WFP assists formerly displaced persons through fish farming.
"The rice thrives in areas surrounding the fish ponds," Samkange explained. WFP would like to break the cycles of hunger in the country, especially in the areas that were affected by drought and floods.
"We want to assist the Government and the region build the necessary infrastructure to develop agriculture and foster food security," he said.
He pointed out that in the food agency plans to empower people to be able to produce their own food. "I appreciate the new and more comprehensive strategy of WFP to improve the food security by not only addressing the emergency situation, but also the recovery and development needs," Kato said, adding that the donation was part of Japan's food support to Uganda.
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