FAO To Provide Food, Rice Seeds To Flood-affected Families In Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) will provide food and rice seeds to flood-affected families, according to China's Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

The FAO's representative to Cambodia Nina Brandstrup said that the FAO has followed thoroughly on the impacts of floods in Cambodia, and decided to provide assistance of food and rice seeds to affected people after the evaluation of the damage.

"I will meet with officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and visit flood affected people in order to evaluate the extent of the damage ahead of the aid provision," Xinhua quoted her as saying.

However, Nina did not disclose the budget plan the FAO would reserve to help Cambodia during the flood period and post-flood rehabilitation period.

Meanwhile, Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong said that this year's flood was the worst and more serious than that in the year 2000.

"The urgent and facing issue Cambodia needs to do is providing food to people affected by the floods to ensure that no one will die of hunger," he said, urging FAO to provide assistance as soon as possible.

The latest figure from the National Committee for Disaster Management showed that as of Tuesday, the floods hitting Cambodia since August have killed at least 164 people and about 215,662 families with 291,000 hectares of rice paddies have been affected.

On the public infrastructure side, the floods have affected more than 200 kilometers of national roads and up to 2,019 kilometers of gravel roads, it said.

The FAO opened an office in Cambodia in 1994, aimed at helping the country to develop agriculture and to ensure food safety.