Yendi, Aug. 17, GNA - The Yendi Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Walvis Hudu, has commended the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for funding the community Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) to promote food security and good governance. He said the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could not be achieved by 2015 without rapid gender mainstreaming in all development plans and programmes of the government and district assemblies with support from development partners and non-governmental organisations. Mr. Walvis said this when he addressed the closing of a five-day gender advocates training workshop held at Yendi. He said the workshop, organized by CIFS for 30 participants from Yendi Municipal Assembly, Nanumba South, Karga and East Mamprusi district, was the sure way of fighting poverty, disease and illiteracy in the communities.

Mr. Walvis reiterated Yendi Municipal Assembly's commitment and continuous support to CIFs and the beneficiary communities to ensure a successful implementation and sustainability of the objectives of the project so that together they could increase food security to promote peace and security in the area.

He said lack of capital, farm inputs and dams for irrigation particularly during the dry season rendered the youth vulnerable to conflict and other related violence including domestic violence that brought hardship to women and children.

He called for efforts by gender advocates and development partners to harmonize and coordinate their efforts to stamp out the remote causes of conflict which include poverty, acute unemployment, food insecurity and intolerance. Mr. Walvis appealed to CIDA to extend the project beyond the six years to 10 years and expand the project to cover more districts and communities in the Northern Region.

The CIFs Ghanaian Project Manger, Mr. Kuupiel Cuthbert, said Community-Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) had made direct financial investment of 4.5 million Canadian dollars through district assemblies to address food initiative of 250 communities in 12 districts in the eastern corridor of the Northern Region for community and district wide initiatives

He said CIFs was to contribute to increase food security in northern Ghana through an approach that is environmentally, economically and social sustainability.

He said the purpose was to demonstrate that community-driven initiatives, implemented within the existing framework for district planning, were an effective and sustainable way of increasing food security in Northern Ghana, adding that in 2005 only Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo, Saboba/Chereponi and East Gonja were covered. Between 2006 and 2007, Gusheigu, Zabzugu/Tatale, Nanumba North, East Mamprusi, Karaga, Yendi and Nanumba South were covered bringing the total to 10 districts.