FAO: Iraqi government measures close food gap

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) issued on Wednesday an explanation on the report of the Crop Prospects and Food Situation, and confirmed that the Iraqi government was able, with its own measures, to bridge the food gap, according to the FAO statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).  

“With reference to the recent report of the Food and Agriculture Organization entitled (Crop Prospects and Food Situation) issued on July 2, 2022, and published on July 11, 2022, we would like to clarify that Iraq has been included in the report on the basis of the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan 2022,” the FAO statement mentioned.

“It is an overview of the coordinated and strategic response proposed by humanitarian organizations to address the urgent needs of people affected by a particular situation, which includes only two specific groups, 730 thousand internally displaced people (IDPs) and returnees who are in need of emergency cash-based food assistance in addition to agricultural livelihood support,” the statement clarified.

“Iraq maintains social protection plans for its people, including one of the largest public food distribution systems in the world, its own social security network, and poverty-targeted conditional cash transfers that cover about 1.2 million Iraqi families and many non-Iraqi families, in addition to other measures that enhance the overall sustainability of local agricultural production,” the statement mentioned.

“The Iraqi government invested heavily in bridging the food gap through many different measures to ensure that consumers are able to afford food,” the statement added.