None of the nation’s four African allies are severely affected by the recent surge in worldwide food prices, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) said yesterday, adding that the nation would work to help those of its allies still struggling economically.
ICDF Deputy Secretary-General Andrea Lee (李新穎) said that although the nation’s allies are not yet fully capable of producing or importing enough food for their populations, many of them have made significant improvement with years of aid from Taiwan.
Lee said that none of the nation’s four African allies — Burkina Faso, Sao Tome and Principe, Gambia and Swaziland — were facing food shortages. The food situation in Haiti, however, one of the nation’s Caribbean allies, was dire, he said.
To help curb the impact of soaring food prices on poor countries, the ICDF will team up with the Council of Agricultural to donate grain and rice to various international organizations, which will in turn distribute it to needy populations.
Taiwan is not a member of the UN and is therefore barred from aiding UN-related humanitarian relief agencies such as the World Food Program.
“Each year, the council and the ICDF distribute the nation’s surplus food to ailing countries after a making a careful evaluation of the specific situation, such as how the donation would impact the local economy,” Lee said.
To date, the nation has donated approximately US$10 million in food to Latin American and Caribbean countries such as Guatemala and Haiti. As part of diplomatic efforts, Lee said, the government also dispatches agricultural missions to allies and friendly nations in need to help them improve cultivation of their staple food crops.
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