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The United Nations is stepping up its efforts with Cambodian auth-orities and aid providers to offer food assistance to nearly a quarter of a million people displaced by flooding through its World Food Program (WFP), its New York headquarters said on Friday.

The WFP estimates 240,000 people have been displaced by the floods, 10 per cent of the Kingdom’s rice crops have been destroyed and a further 265,000 hectares of rice fields have been damaged.

The price of rice in Cambodia has risen by 12 per cent, it says.

“Now, with the price of rice on the rise, the poorest households face the prospect of not having enough to eat. Food support is needed now, and will be needed in the months ahead, as people recover from this disaster,” WFP Cambodia country director Jean-Pierre de Margerie said.

The WFP has launched an emergency oper-ation in collaboration with the government and non-government organisations to distribute rice. It aims to reach 60,000 people, providing 50 kilograms of rice per family.

The WFP is also working with Cambodian authorities to assess the number of people needing food assistance, how long they will need it for, and the time it will take them to recover.

The WFP also says a one-year plan to help the 150,000 most vulnerable victims will be put in place. It has already received $2.5 mill-ion for emergency funding for Cambodia, with $1.5 million more to come.