KATHMANDU, AUG 11 -
The government plans to implement the Nepal Food and Agriculture Security Enhancement Programme in 11 districts of the Mid-Western and Far Western regions this year in a bid to improve the food security situation.
According to Nathu Prasad Chaudhary, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Development, the government has received US$ 46.5 million from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) under its GAFSP Trust Fund. The programme, which will run for five-six years, was awarded to Nepal in June 2011 on a competitive basis.
The GAFSP is a multilateral mechanism formed to assist implementation of the pledges made by the G8 to address under-funding of countries and regional agriculture and food security strategic investment plans. The Nepal government will contribute US$ 11.5 million to the project. The ministry is currently engaged in detailed project formulation and design. There are 22 food deficit districts in Nepal and most of them are in the Mid-Western and Far Western regions while six are in the Tarai, according to the National Planning Commission (NPC). About 3.5 million people are estimated to be suffering from malnutrition due to lack of nutritious food, said the NPC.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the National Conference on Food Science and Technology (Food Conference 2012) on Friday, Chaudhary said that lack of knowledge about utilising the available food items was also one of the main causes of food insecurity in many remote areas of the country.
“People are using the nutritious foods grown in rural areas to produce alcohol instead of using them as food,” he said. “There is an urgent need for conducting awareness programmes in such areas to ensure food security.”
Experts have cited the changed food habits of the people residing in remote rural districts as one of the reasons behind food insecurity. They have been saying that the growing tendency of having rice as food despite the availability of nutritious food in remote areas has increased food insecurity in those districts. Inaugurating the convention, Vice-President Paramananda Jha said there was a need for use of improved food technology to grow more food to ensure food security “We should also develop conventional skills and means of food production and processing while adopting modern technologies,” he added. NPC Vice-Chairman Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry stressed the need to improve traditional food growing practices and increase awareness about the nutritious value of local foods to ensure food security in remote districts.
Highlighting the objectives of the food conference, director general of the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) Jeevan Prabha Lama said it would discuss food security with reference to the Millennium Development Goals. “The meet will also focus on developing food technology to ensure the quality of food besides enhancing food safety regulations in the country,” added Lama.
World Health Organisation Representative Lin Aung stressed the need to adopt necessary measures for quality control stating that inappropriate use of chemicals had greatly affected public health.
The two-day meet organised by the DFTQC, Nepal Food Scientists and Technologists Association, Nepal and Central Campus of Technology, Dharan, Nepal will discuss food and nutrition security, improving food technology and enhancing the quality of edibles.
Source: http://kantipuronline.com/2012/08/11/business/food-security-scheme-to-be-applied-in-mid--far-west/358589.html
The government plans to implement the Nepal Food and Agriculture Security Enhancement Programme in 11 districts of the Mid-Western and Far Western regions this year in a bid to improve the food security situation.
According to Nathu Prasad Chaudhary, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Development, the government has received US$ 46.5 million from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) under its GAFSP Trust Fund. The programme, which will run for five-six years, was awarded to Nepal in June 2011 on a competitive basis.
The GAFSP is a multilateral mechanism formed to assist implementation of the pledges made by the G8 to address under-funding of countries and regional agriculture and food security strategic investment plans. The Nepal government will contribute US$ 11.5 million to the project. The ministry is currently engaged in detailed project formulation and design. There are 22 food deficit districts in Nepal and most of them are in the Mid-Western and Far Western regions while six are in the Tarai, according to the National Planning Commission (NPC). About 3.5 million people are estimated to be suffering from malnutrition due to lack of nutritious food, said the NPC.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the National Conference on Food Science and Technology (Food Conference 2012) on Friday, Chaudhary said that lack of knowledge about utilising the available food items was also one of the main causes of food insecurity in many remote areas of the country.
“People are using the nutritious foods grown in rural areas to produce alcohol instead of using them as food,” he said. “There is an urgent need for conducting awareness programmes in such areas to ensure food security.”
Experts have cited the changed food habits of the people residing in remote rural districts as one of the reasons behind food insecurity. They have been saying that the growing tendency of having rice as food despite the availability of nutritious food in remote areas has increased food insecurity in those districts. Inaugurating the convention, Vice-President Paramananda Jha said there was a need for use of improved food technology to grow more food to ensure food security “We should also develop conventional skills and means of food production and processing while adopting modern technologies,” he added. NPC Vice-Chairman Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry stressed the need to improve traditional food growing practices and increase awareness about the nutritious value of local foods to ensure food security in remote districts.
Highlighting the objectives of the food conference, director general of the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) Jeevan Prabha Lama said it would discuss food security with reference to the Millennium Development Goals. “The meet will also focus on developing food technology to ensure the quality of food besides enhancing food safety regulations in the country,” added Lama.
World Health Organisation Representative Lin Aung stressed the need to adopt necessary measures for quality control stating that inappropriate use of chemicals had greatly affected public health.
The two-day meet organised by the DFTQC, Nepal Food Scientists and Technologists Association, Nepal and Central Campus of Technology, Dharan, Nepal will discuss food and nutrition security, improving food technology and enhancing the quality of edibles.
Source: http://kantipuronline.com/2012/08/11/business/food-security-scheme-to-be-applied-in-mid--far-west/358589.html
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