COLOMBO – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) yesterday signed a three-year agreement to roll out a set of activities which will improve food security, nutrition and resilience to climate-related and economic shocks in nine disaster-prone districts of Sri Lanka.Under the US$ 4 million agreement, KOICA will support WFP to design and implement rehabilitation and adaptation activities benefiting 30,000 people, in partnership with the Ministry of National
Policies and Economic Affairs; Child, Youth and Cultural Affairs; Mahaweli Development and Environment; and Irrigation and Agriculture. The projects will support 7,500 participants to carry out
rehabilitation and adaptation activities such as water harvesting and skills training in areas which will build their resilience! to climate change and extreme weather conditions.
Climate change and extreme weather conditions are at the root of repeated natural disasters in Sri Lanka, including flood, landslides and droughts. Already in May of this year, some 500,000 people were
affected by the worst floods experienced in Sri Lanka in 25 years following Cyclone Roanu. Many communities are still recovering from the floods while other communities are under severe stress due to
the negative effects of delayed rains, which follows a severe drought in 2014 affecting some 750,000 people, mainly women and children.
“Restoring community assets to improve food security and agricultural productivity, and increasing people’s level of shock resistance is a critical investment in a country like Sri Lanka,” said Mr.
NguyenDuc Hoang, WFP’s Deputy Country Director, welcoming KOICA’s timely donation of US$ 4 million. “Insufficient and inadequate water sources for agriculture, limited alternative livelihoods,
and income generation opportunities are fundamental areas of development which urgently need attention.”
“Although Sri Lanka graduated into the lower middle income status in 2010, regional disparities still exist, markedly, for food security and livelihood opportunities. The KOICA assistance will be focused
on addressing the needs of the most vulnerable communities in order to reduce development disparities and achieve equitable future for all Sri Lankans, which is the major objective of the KOICA
assistance through this grant to WFP for the next three years,” said Mr Lee, Dong-ku, Country Director of KOICA Office in Sri Lanka.
In order to reach the most vulnerable, the project will target women — particularly women-headed households—as well as youth facing limited access to jobs and livelihood opportunities. The project
will employ community-based participatory approaches with support delivered through WFP’s cash transfer schemes. Integrated productive asset creation projects will ultimately help communities
become less vulnerable to shocks while overcoming the risks of future climate disasters.