UN inks $3m food & livestock projects
By Tariq Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD—Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) Tuesday signed an agreement worth 300,000 US dollars in a project for emergency assistance to support the rehabilitation of the agricultural, livestock and fisheries sectors in cyclone affected areas of Balochistan and rebuild livelihoods of rural households.
The signing ceremony was held here at the ministry and was attended by Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Mohammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Secretary MINFAL, Mohammad Burale Farah, FAO Representative and other senior officials from the Ministry and UN.
The project emphasis would be on damage assessment for the agricultural sector, focusing on crop production, livestock, on-farm irrigation structures and fisheries (marine and aquaculture). Preparation of an integrated early recovery, longer-tem rehabilitation strategy and action plan for the agricultural sector would also be in focus of the project.
The project would also cover provision of assistance to the government in mobilizing the financial resources required for the early recovery and long-term rehabilitation strategy and plan for the agricultural sector from domestic and international sources.
This project would be coordinated with other donor funded emergency projects in the agricultural and food security sector led by FAO under the One-UN programme. The six- month project would mobilize FAO technical support services and international and national expertise in support of these objectives. It will also be fully integrated in the federal and provincial government flood response process. The primary stakeholders are the federal government of Pakistan and provincial government of Balochistan. FAO’S main proposed partners in Balochistan include other UN funds programmes and specialized agencies, Quetta-based international and national NGOs together with service providers such as the suppliers, storage companies and the flood affected rural community.