EU to assist Pakistan in developing sustainable agriculture

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ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the EU concluded a US$56.6 million project on July 31 that will improve food security for more than a million vulnerable people in food deficient areas of the country.

“The EU ‘Food Facility’ is Europe’s response to the food crisis, demonstrating firm commitment to help poor countries boost agricultural production,” said EU Ambassador to Pakistan Jan de Kok at the signing ceremony in Islamabad.

The project will be implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in association with the World Food Programme (WFP) through the end of June 2011.

“Such a response is needed, especially [during] a time when hunger is on the rise – even more because of the global economic crisis,” said Kok.

A ministry statement said the project’s main activities would include free distribution of agricultural inputs, improvement of irrigation channels, reduction of post-harvest losses and strengthening local institutional capacity.

“The project focuses on small farms that will be provided with quality agriculture information and trained with improved technologies, thereby ensuring an increase in productivity and the strengthening of local capacities,” said Gamal Mohamed Ahmed, FAO’s representative in Pakistan.

According to the WFP, Pakistan is in danger of becoming an acutely food-insecure country in the very near future. It claims that in Punjab there is food insecurity in 25 of its 34 districts. In the North-West Frontier Province, only five districts are secure; in Sindh, only nine; and in Baluchistan only four.

“EU assistance will play an important role in enhancing agriculture productivity in the food deficient districts, which are crucial for the sustainability of vulnerable rural households,” said Gamal.

“The project will spread over 17 targeted districts across the country selected based on surveys of prevailing conditions in districts under consideration,” said Dr Faizul Bari, the overall project manager. “The WFP will provide food-for-work assistance packages for approximately 83,000 households targeted by the FAO.”

A package that consists of seed, fertiliser and other agriculture equipment will be distributed among small farmers indentified by NGOs in the targeted areas.