Original report from Phnom Penh
25 February 2010
The European Union announced Thursday it will provide $25 million for five projects to help Cambodia deal with climate change and rising food prices.
“The EU has decided to implement a very big program of food security that will help the poor people in rural areas of Cambodia to go to overcome this food price,” Ajay Markanday, Cambodia’s Food and Agricultural Organization representative, told reporters Thursday.
The projects are designed to “bridge the gap” between emergency food aid and longer-term development, by improving agricultural production, the EU said in a statement.
“This aid project is very important for Cambodia,” Srun Sakhum, deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters. “The project will provide rice seedlings and fertilizer and training to the poor farmers to promote agriculture products to avoid food insecurity as Cambodia faces high prices and climate change.”
He also said the projects will promote the growing of produce, the development of fish farms and irrigation improvement. This will improve overall nutrition, he said, and help the country prepare against possible adverse affects of climate change.
Separately on Thursday, the Ministry of Environment joined the EU, UNDP and the Swedish and Dutch development agencies in launching the Cambodian Climate Change Alliance, an effort to join developing countries together in mitigating the effects of climate change.
“The EU has decided to implement a very big program of food security that will help the poor people in rural areas of Cambodia to go to overcome this food price,” Ajay Markanday, Cambodia’s Food and Agricultural Organization representative, told reporters Thursday.
The projects are designed to “bridge the gap” between emergency food aid and longer-term development, by improving agricultural production, the EU said in a statement.
“This aid project is very important for Cambodia,” Srun Sakhum, deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters. “The project will provide rice seedlings and fertilizer and training to the poor farmers to promote agriculture products to avoid food insecurity as Cambodia faces high prices and climate change.”
He also said the projects will promote the growing of produce, the development of fish farms and irrigation improvement. This will improve overall nutrition, he said, and help the country prepare against possible adverse affects of climate change.
Separately on Thursday, the Ministry of Environment joined the EU, UNDP and the Swedish and Dutch development agencies in launching the Cambodian Climate Change Alliance, an effort to join developing countries together in mitigating the effects of climate change.
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