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Germany to fund food security projects

3 March 2010, Rome - Germany will provide funding of more than $6 million to five FAO projects aimed at strengthening the food security of smallholders in Africa and elsewhere.   

The donation, from Germany's food security trust fund with FAO, will finance a global project as well as inter-regional projects and a number of smaller initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. They will be implemented between 2010 and 2012 and countries already targeted include Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

The biggest project, aimed at supporting food security, nutrition and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, is worth some $2 million. Beneficiary countries have yet to be identified.

The aim of the global project is to improve the abilities of regional organizations to develop, implement and monitor food security training programmes. Another will help incorporate food security, nutrition and livelihoods in ongoing initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. Current programmes and projects often prioritize food production while giving only limited attention to food consumption and livelihoods.

Business partnerships

A third project will help small farmers to enter into business partnerships with small and medium agricultural enterprises in Kenya and promote business-oriented planning and management capacity. 

Under another initiative in Sierra Leone, Uganda and Tanzania, assistance will be given to improve the capacity of district administrators to prepare, implement and monitor local plans that are compliant with the right to food.

German funding will also be provided for a project aimed at improving the design and planning of smallholder systems that integrate food and bioenergy production.