Over 30 million rural Chinese have benefited directly from the
United Nations World Food Program's (WFP) projects in China over
the past 26 years, according to a survey commissioned by the
Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
In a meeting between the organization and the ministry held in
this capital of southwest China's Yunnan
Province on Monday, the ministry said that millions have
indirectly benefited from the integrated urban and rural
development projects initiated by WFP, which finances land
development, irrigation, infrastructure, and water and soil
conservation in partnership with the Chinese government.
Zhang Huosheng, senior program officer of the WFP China Office
said that WFP's China projects have provided US$1 billion worth of
food to the country over the past 28 years, and boosted social
development in 180 impoverished counties and regions.
He said that the reason why the WFP program has been a
substantial success is that the WFP's initiation has won strong
cross-sector support from the Chinese government.
Since 2001, the Chinese government's funding support of WFP
projects has exceeded the total sum of the WFP's annual financing
on the projects, said Zhang.
In the survey, the ministry found that the per unit farm yield
tripled in WFP's project areas, the per capita grain consumption
increased by 69 percent on average and the per capita income was
3.3 times higher than before.
"WFP projects have yielded social and ecological profits," said
Li Zhengdong, director of the International Cooperation Department
with the ministry.
Illiteracy has gone down, education has improved, more people
have access to clean drinking water, roads were built into
villages, and water and soil was better conserved in WFP project
areas, said Li.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2005)