0.5 million tons of surplus wheat to be provided to WFP: LoI signed

The government on Wednesday signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the World Food Programme to provide 500,000 metric tons surplus wheat to it for making high energy food products to combat malnutrition and improve food security among vulnerable groups.
The LoI was singed between Ministry of Food Security and Research (MFSR) and WFP on Wednesday at the conclusion of a workshop 'Zero Hunger Plan'. Later, talking to Business Recorder, Director WFP Pakistan, Jean-Luc Siblot said, "we are going to try and work to transform wheat provided by the government in high energy biscuits. He said that the WFP has allocated $320 million for its regular project being implemented to fight malnutrition for 2012 and $350 million for 2011.
He said provision of wheat shows a strong commitment by the government to address the issues of food security and malnutrition and will encourage the international donor community to step up its support. According to the WFP, the donation, valued at $144 million, was also announced in a Letter of Intent signed by the ministry and the WFP at the end of a workshop attended by government representatives, donors, WFP, the Food and Agricultural Organization and NGOs including Oxfam and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Ministry of Food, Security and Research Shafqat Hussain Naghmi said the government would share extra wheat with the WFP and initially 45 districts would be targeted under the 'Zero Hunger Plan' and over 41 million school going children would be provided high energy food. He said that the implementation of the plan would start in the three months. He said the government is expecting 70 to 80 per cent funding from outside for implementation of the plan and only 20 per cent support would be sought from the government.
A representative of the SDPI said that a survey revealed that half of the population of the country was malnourished not because the country does not have sufficient staple food, but because it is simply becoming out of the reach of the people. Inflation seems to be the major challenge. He said that taking measure to increase the production of staple food was one thing and making food items accessible to the poor people is another. The problem of the country is that wheat production has increased considerably during the last couple of years but at the same time phenomenal increase in the prices has made them out of the reach of the common man. He said that people in 18 of the 22 district of Balochistan are facing food insecurity followed by a considerable number of people in Fata, KP, Sindh and Punjab.