WFP set to help Myanmar fight food insecurity

Nay Pyi Taw, March 29: The World Food Programme (WFP) has signed an agreement with the ministry of border affairs to reduce food insecurity in Myanmar, authorities said on Tuesday.

The Letter of Understanding on the project of reducing food insecurity and malnutrition was signed in capital Nay Pyi Taw on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The project, worth about $134 million, is to be undertaken in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Magaway, Mandalay and Yangon regions and states till next year.

The project will include delivery of 94,656 tonnes of rice and food to these regions and also provide cash grants and training programmes.

The ministry will fully implement the project, according to union minister Lt.Gen Kyaw Swe.

Nearly 470,000 hectares of paddy was affected and almost a quarter of a million livestock were killed, especially in Rakhine state and Sagaing region where the impact of a cyclone was most severe in late July and August in 2015, a UN report revealed.

IANS