South Africa has donated R100-million to two United Nations food programmes supplying emergency relief, the organisations said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) said they welcomed the money, of which R67,5-million will be used by the FAO for agriculture.
The WFP will use R22,5-million to buy emergency relief supplies, while the remaining R10-million will be used to support the Department of Agriculture’s development of a vulnerability and information monitoring system.
”This very generous donation, the second that South Africa has made to [the] WFP for the Southern Africa crisis response, will enable us to buy essential food supplies for many people across the region,” said Mike Sackett, WFP regional director for Southern Africa.
”It comes at a critical time when we’re facing serious funding and food shortfalls, so the contribution is very timely.”
Graham Farmer, FAO regional emergency coordinator for Southern Africa, said: ”In an approach that targets the preservation of livelihoods, the funds for FAO will be used to stabilise and even increase agricultural production, targeting both individuals and community-based groups.
”This generous act, the largest single donation to FAO for Southern Africa in two years of emergency operations, will improve the food security status of vulnerable, agriculturally based households, enabling them to improve their self-reliance throughout the breadth of agricultural interventions.”
The WFP still needs about $100-million to meet its emergency appeal in July last year for $311-million to feed up to 6,5-million people until June.
”Similarly, [the] FAO’s appeal in June 2003 for $49,3-million in support of agricultural interventions and control of livestock diseases is now just over 40% funded,” the statement said.
South Africa’s donation was announced on the same day that more than 60 groups representing farmer, consumer, environmental and development organisations from 15 African countries sent an open letter of protest to the WFP.
They were objecting to the WFP putting pressure on Sudan and Angola to accept genetically modified food aid. — Sapa