The World Food Programme is extending its mission in Cambodia to December 2018 with a budget of $46 million, country director Gian Pietro Bordignon announced yesterday.

Bordignon said food insecurity exacerbated by dry conditions remained a problem in the provinces adjoining the Tonle Sap lake, which was where the WFP primarily operated.

“We will harmonise with the government’s development strategy from 2014 to 2018,” said Bordignon.

The program’s main focus in Cambodia is providing food for primary and secondary school students and their families through hot meals, rations and cash assistance to 600,000 beneficiaries per year.

He added that the WFP would also try to improve or rehabilitate drinking water and sanitation infrastructure and continue trying to encourage schools to buy produce directly from local farmers.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry praised the WFP’s cooperation with the government, saying it promoted school retention and helped fight the effects of climate change.

Bordignon said the government had taken over the WFP’s functions in three provinces so far and would continue to do so incrementally.