US$ 20 mn WFP grant to tackle food security issues

18 January 2016 02:42 am

Sri Lanka will be receiving a US$ 20 million grant from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to address the country’s food security issues.

WFP Deputy Country Director Nguyen Duc Hoang said that the grant was to be utilized for 2016 and 2017,  during a meeting with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

The talks focused on improving the nutritional status of schoolchildren, especially in rural and plantation areas.

Hoang said that WFP would be providing further assistance to improve the nutritional levels of rural communities.

He added that WFP is ever ready to help Sri Lanka with food insecurity arising from natural disasters.

President Maithripala Sirisena is bent on making Sri Lanka self-sufficient in food. Around 30 percent of the country’s workforce is employed in agriculture.
Recently, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that there will be a bumper crop of rice in 2016.