The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) are funding the transfer of 30 field technicians and experts from Bangladesh to Gambia to work with local experts.
The agreement is part of FAO's South-South Cooperation Program, a global initiative which aims to strengthen cooperation among developing countries at different stages of development to improve agricultural productivity and ensure access to food for all.
Financed by the IDB, Bangladesh will send five experts and 28 field technicians to the Gambia over a two or three-year period. They will work on small-scale rural projects to improve water management and bolster the production of foods such as cereals, fruit and vegetables, small animals and fish. The project is one element in a broader program to improve the country's food security.
The South-South Cooperation Program is part of FAO's Special Program for Food Security (SPFS) designed to improve the food security of some of the world's poorest countries by rapidly increasing food production, improving people's access to food and reducing their vulnerability to climatic events such as drought and floods.
Today SPFS is operational in 74 countries and under preparation in a further 14. Some 27 host countries have signed a South-South agreement with a cooperating country and FAO. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
