KIGALI, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Wednesday launched a new project aiming to strengthen Rwanda's water governance process to ensure food security.
Dubbed "Knowing water better: Towards fairer and more sustainable access to natural resources for greater food security," the project was launched at a stakeholders workshop organized by FAO in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda.
The three-year project to be implemented in three countries including Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and Senegal will conduct water accounting and auditing, train technical staff on the collection and use of data and evaluate different water management and allocation options in view of the multiple needs of water users especially for small-scale farmers, pastoralists and fishers.
The project seeks to strengthen water governance processes so that they are better prepared to ensure food security and adapt to climate change, water scarcity and increased competition for water resources in an equitable and sustainable manner, FAO representative in Rwanda Gualbert Gbehounou said at the launching ceremony during the workshop.
"This project will contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in different ways such as ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, access to water, among others. It is very important to our lives," Gbehounou said.
Prime Ngabonziza, director general of Rwanda Water and Forest Authority, said the project comes at an opportune time, adding that water is one important social component of developments in agriculture, tourism and industries.
