PRESS RELEASE
August 2, 2007

In response to an "Appeal for Food Resources for the People of Zimbabwe" issued by the World Food Programme (WFP) on July 16, 2007, the Government of Japan, on July 31, approved the disbursement of four hundred and eighty million yen (JPY 480,000,000), or approximately four million US dollars (USD 4,000,000) in response to the appeal. The grant is to be used for the procurement of maize.

This appeal was based on a FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission to Zimbabwe in June this year. Furthermore, the Government of Zimbabwe has declared 2007 a drought year.

The FAO/WFP mission projected a cereal import requirement of over one million metric tonnes during the 2007/08 season and recommended that just over 440,000 tonnes of emergency food assistance be procured. Plans call for a large scale Vulnerable Group Feeding programme beginning in September. This will reach a peak of 3.3 million beneficiaries between December and March next year.

This grant is extended in the context of Millenium Development Goal No. 1, the eradication and extreme poverty and hunger. It is hoped that this contribution will complement the Government of Zimbabwe's own efforts to feed the nation.

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