A representative delegation of the World Food Program (WFP) headed by Ms. Coco Ushiyama called on Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur, here at Chief Minister’s House Peshawar the other day and discussed with him matters related to various activities being carried out under WFP in the province specifically merged districts.
Both the dignitaries also discussed the prospects for further expanding the working scope between the provincial government and WFP and agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in the various sectors.
The chief minister on this occasion, lauded the cooperation of WFP in the various sectors of the province and said that the incumbent provincial government needed more support from WFP and other donor agencies for the development of merged areas, adding that promoting quality education and employment opportunities in merged districts is one of the priority areas of his government.
The World Food Program’s initiative for providing educational stipends to the girls of merged districts is highly commendable, he remarked and said that despite the financial constraints, the government is not only committed but going all out to bring about positive change in the life of common man in the merged districts.
However, he said that we need to have special attention and more concerted efforts in order to bring those districts into the national mainstream, because the war against terrorism had badly affected the infrastructure in these areas. Apart from this, there is a need to construct farm-to-market roads to accelerate economic activities in the same districts.
The Chief Minister further said that the provincial government is planning to build small dams to ensure food security in the province, whereas introducing other modern technologies including tunnel farming is also under consideration in order to develop the agriculture sector on modern lines, in addition to establishment of food testing laboratories in the province, thereby ensuring quality of food commodities in the markets.
Similarly, we further need to effectively utilize available natural water resources for producing hydropower and ensuring self-sufficiency in agricultural products. “We also need to have foreign investment in order to materialize all these plans”, he said and assured that investors interested in investing here would be provided with all kind of support and facilities.
All these efforts would pave the path of sustainable development and prosperity by capitalizing the untapped advantages and stabilizing local economy, he added.
Talking on the occasion, the representative of World Food Program Ms. Coco Ushiyama said that World Food Program is currently working with the provincial government on various public welfare projects, including provision of educational stipends to 30,000 girls in the merged districts. The WFP is also willing to further expand its collaboration with the provincial government in the various public welfare interventions, she remarked.
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