United Nations Radio

The United Nations Food and Agriculture agency and the European Union announced on Monday their plan to provide seeds and fertilizer to nearly 100,000 farmers in rural Pakistan on the eve of the planting season.

EU and FAO provide aid to Pakistani farmers

Soaring food prices pushed a further ten million Pakistanis into the ranks of the hungry bringing the total number of hungry people in the country to an estimated 46 million, or 28 percent of the population, according to a UN assessment report published last year.

FAO's Representative in Pakistan, Gamal Ahmed explains that most of Pakistan's rural population is made up of smallholder farmers, who face increased difficulties to live off the land and who cannot grow enough for themselves.

The EU is working with both FAO and the World Food Programme to alleviate hunger in Pakistan by funding a 40 million euro operation through to June 2011.

Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations
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