The UN World Food Program Responds to Food Shortages in Niger

 The United Nations World Food Program announced plans to scale up its operations inside the country of Niger, where more than one million people are in need of emergency food aid. According to humanitarian agencies, conditions in Niger are particularly bad this year, due to a poor harvest, drought, and insect attacks. The situation was worsened by the return of almost 200,000 migrant workers from Libya and Cote d’Iovire.

Gaëlle Sévenier, a spokesperson for the UN World Food Program, told reporters in Geneva that $60 million is required to fund food aid interventions for the most vulnerable over the next six months, as the country deals with an estimated deficit of 500,000 tons of cereal. Sévenier also added that the number of people in need could rise to two million, by the end of next year.

The UN Food Agency reassured the state of Niger that they would act quickly in the face of crisis. So far, the UN Food Agency has doubled the number of people it plans to feed in Niger during next month’s general food distribution.

- Madeline Lee 

SOURCE: UN News 

Urban Garden Project in the DR Congo Proves Successful

Since 2000, the Ministry of Rural Development has implemented an urban horticulture program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The plan cost $10.4 million and was financed by Belgium. The program has assisted urban growers in 5 cities, and has seen great results.

Successes include, the cities more than doubling their vegetable output, turning profits, increasing nutrition, and employing thousands of people. Some of those employed made four or five times what they made previously. The five cities now produce 330,000 tons of vegetables annually, up from 148,000 in 2005-2006. More than 250,000 tons of vegetables are sold in markets and supermarkets, creating a surplus value of about $400 million.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said this program was a model to help other cities grow crops and see improvement in health and income. Cities are becoming more populated than rural areas, and the fastest growing cities are in the developing world. Because of this, urban areas are important to focus on when addressing nutrition and food security.

This program shows that success is possible. The next step is to scale-up production and expand the program.

-Sami Ressler

SOURCE: UN NEWS