Taiwan is restructuring its program for donating grain to Haiti following a string of typhoons last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
The storms have raised concerns over domestic rice supply, said Joseph Kuo (郭永樑), head of the Department of Central and South American Affairs.
Kuo said that in collaboration with the Haitian government and international aid organization Food for the Poor (FFP), Taiwan has donated more than 14,000 tonnes of rice to the Caribbean country since 2003. More than 18,000 Haitians have benefited from the project, he said.
In the past, the annual donation from Taiwan was usually at least a few thousand tonnes.
“In 2007, there was a minor situation. We have to be mindful of the safety level of our national rice stock, which became insufficient because of [agricultural damage] brought on by a string of typhoons,” he said.
Although FFP has asked Taiwan to continue its usual donation, Kuo said that because of the severe damage caused by several typhoons last year, Taiwan is mulling whether to limit the size of its aid package to a maximum of 200 tonnes of rice on a case-by-case basis each time Port-au-Prince or FFP requests grain.
The Council of Agriculture will examine the situation before making a final decision, he said.
MOFA Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) later said the new policy aimed to protect and preserve the nation’s ability to provide enough rice to its own people, adding that Taiwan does not have a rice shortage.
In related news, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) yesterday received a medal from the Dominican Republic government for his years of contribution in promoting bilateral friendship between Santo Domingo and Taipei.
Ou also signed an agreement at the ceremony promising to boost the number of Taiwanese volunteers sent by the International Cooperation and Development Fund to serve in the Caribbean country.
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