A MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION WITH WFP TO REDUCE POVERTY

A memorandum of cooperation with WFP to reduce poverty Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [1/14/2010] Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Food Program of the United Nations, aims to reduce poverty over five years. The Director of the Office of the WFP in Iraq, Edward Kallon, following the signing, said the partnership is part of the plan administered by Iraq to improve the public distribution system for the citizens and strengthen it. He said the World Food Program through its experience, which extends more than 40 years in providing food assistance at an international level, can play a main role in helping to improve chain supply management for the public distribution system in Iraq. He added that the memorandum of understanding constitutes an important element in poverty reduction strategy and development plan of Iraq, because the work of the United Nations development assistance aims to strengthen the networks of social insurance for the poor, adding that the partnership extends five years, from the current year until the year 2014. The Iraqi Trade Minister Safa al-Din Safi, said the signing of a memorandum of understanding came to achieving the objectives of securing ration card to the fullest in Iraq, and take advantage of the program's experiences in shipping, road transport, storage and monitoring systems and distribution of food, in addition to upgrading the capacity and rehabilitation of provincial for the management of the ration card items of the population, stressing the need for training and technical support required and introduction of modern mechanisms for the procurement of food. In addition, the task of developing Iraq strategy on combating poverty in the agricultural areas and rural areas through the exploitation of human resources in agriculture and projects that are invested in this sector. According to Deputy of Ministry of Agriculture Ghazi al-Aboudi, said the ministry has adopted a successful policy in promoting the production of agricultural crops, by introducing modern methods in agriculture and development of an agricultural program to find balance between the producer and importer, as well as to restore the site of Iraq in international organizations concerned with agriculture, stressing that the government's initiative provided an opportunity for farmers to obtain loans without interest to finance agricultural projects, and provided them with subsidized agricultural inputs. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=11295