WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2003 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will donate 1,390 metric tons of U.S. agricultural commodities to Mercy Corps, a private voluntary organization, for a child education and nutrition project in Kyrgyzstan. The commodities, which include 600 metric tons of flour, 400 tons of rice, 290 tons of soybean oil and 100 tons of dehydrated potato flakes, are part of a USDA assistance package valued at around $3 million for this project.
Mercy Corps will distribute the commodities to 50,000 school children in kindergartens and boarding schools in Kyrgyzstan over a 12-month period. This program will also provide grants for school repairs and equipment.
The donation will be made under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service.
The McGovern-Dole program provides for USDA donations of agricultural commodities to promote education, child development and food security for some of the world’s poorest children. USDA expects to provide 150,000 tons of U.S. commodities to 21 countries under fiscal 2003 McGovern-Dole donation agreements.
For further information, contact Delphine Hamlin of FAS at (202) 720-4233, or by e-mail at Delphine.Hamlin@fas.usda.gov.
FAS news releases are available on the Internet at http://www.fas.usda.gov.
#PR 0226-03
