A Millennium Development Goal 1c (MDG1C) Initiative Project, financed by the European Union through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at the tune of Euro 7.6M is poised to improve food security through crop production intensification and school feeding programme, as well as reducing poverty in the selected intervention districts of The Gambia.

The project that was officially incepted Wednesday in the form of a two-day workshop at a local hotel in Cape Point, Bakau, is a European Union support to The Gambia to accelerate progress towards achieving the MDG1c, which is to reduce by half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. The Initiative is part of the overall development project which seeks to establish sustainable commercialised agriculture that will facilitate the foundation of a nationally home-grown school feeding programme.

Speaking at the ceremony, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Ada Gaye, said although the government of The Gambia is committed to achieving the MDGs, more particularly with regards to the MDG-1c target, about 20 percent of infants have low birth weights and 20.3 percent of children under 5 are underweight against the 10.4 percent objective for 2015. "The MDGs initiatives is a European Union response [that] aims to help build the capacity of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to accelerate the realisation of some critical MDGs," she stated.

While reiterating that the project has two specific objectives, PS Gaye said this Initiative will forge partnership with key civil society and Non-governmental Organisations. She also said the initiative is in line with The Gambia's development blue prints such as the Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) and The Gambia National Agriculture Investment Progranme (GNAIP) .

The Agric PS on behalf of President Jammeh and his government expressed their sincere appreciation for this intervention being supported by the European Union and the United Nations systems The FAO representative in The Gambia, Dr. Babagana Ahmadu, for his part, said the global food organisation's role in the MDG1c project is in line with its mandate to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural population and contribute to the growth of the world economy.

The FAO boss decried the fact that the number of hungry people in the world remain unacceptably high despite expected recent gains that have pushed the figure below the one billion mark. Ahmadu said the project under discussion will support the implementation of activities that are directly linked to poverty issues, notably food security and malnutrition. He disclosed that the main target of the project will be smallholder producers, farmer communities, and pre-primary and primary school children in targeted project areas and schools.

The EU Charge' d' Affaires to The Gambia, Agnes Guillaud, disclosed that during the 2010 UN conference, the EC announced the establishment of a 1 billion Euro fund called the MDG Initiative to help countries like The Gambia, to achieve some of their MDGs.

"Earlier this year, the EU signed a financing agreement with the government of The Gambia for a 7.6 million Euro which was approximately 380 million Dalasi for an MDG Initiative project to improve food security through crop production intensification and school feeding programme," she added.