In 2008, the World Food Programme (WFP) has purchased a record-breaking 552,000 metric tons of food in southern Africa, spending US$190 million on cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, corn-soya blend, salt and sugar. This is the equivalent of providing 2.75 million hungry people with a full food basket for an entire year. The previous record was in 2005, when the WPF spent US$100 million on 500,000 metric tons of food. “At a time of high food prices, buying in southern Africa has still proven to be both cost efficient as well as extremely effective in supporting small farmers and traders and stimulating local agricultural economies,” said Mustapha Darboe, WFP Regional Director for Southern, Eastern and Central Africa.
Source: WFP.org
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