The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The European Commission is providing a grant of Euro 33.6 million (Taka about 336 crore) in assistance to Bangladesh to expand the country's food security support for the next five years.

An agreement to this effect was signed yesterday by ERD Secretary Aminul Islam Bhuiyan and Head of the delegation of European Commission to Bangladesh Ambassador Dr. Stefan Frowein, an EC press release said.

The overall objective of the Food Security Programme 2006 is to reduce extreme poverty and malnutrition in Bangladesh by improving the socio-economic condition of the very poor and by managing and improving food security in an effective way.

The programme has been developed in line with the overall objectives of the European Commission's 2007-2013 Country Strategy Paper for Bangladesh, which focuses on reducing poverty and assisting Bangladesh's integration into the world economy.

The intervention will tackle several specific areas of food insecurity aimed at improving the availability, access and utilization of food among vulnerable groups and strengthening the capacity of the government of Bangladesh.

The programme's main goals are: improvement in nutrition and educational performance of poor and ultra-poor primary school children in areas with high levels of food insecurity, setting up of a sustainable national surveillance scheme to monitor nutrition indicators and provide high quality statistical data related to food security.

Besides, strengthening to implementation, monitoring and evaluation capacity of a comprehensive, equitable and gender- sensitive pro-poor National Food Policy and Action Plan, promotion of optimal farming practices for enhanced production and access by vulnerable households of nutritious food through crop diversification and sustainable improvements in soil fertility are the other highlights of the programme.

Different ministries in collaboration with international bodies and civil society organisations will be in charge of the programme implementation and monitoring. The main programme will run from 2008 to 2012, the press release said.

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make progress in the past due to political interference. Undue interference has deprived people of getting the desired benefits.

Thus, people have lost confidence on the cooperative leadership.

Iqbal said the Government is making all out effort to restore confidence in the cooperative movement.

He assured of solving the problems of Dhaka Reporters' Unity Samabay Samity.

Samity President Ashraf Ali chaired the meeting. Former president of DRU Shafiqul Kabir, Samity General Secretary Mohsinul Karim Lebu and vice- president Halim Azad were present as special guest.

DUJ president Altaf Mahmud, Samity former General Secretary Sadrul Hasan, members Ajmal Huq Helal, Rafiqul Islam Azad and Mojammel Huq Chanchal took part in discussion.