The program, at the cost of 23 million U.S. dollars, will cover 2.6 million poverty-stricken Chinese people, mainly in the country's remote and mountainous areas in central and western provinces, the China Daily reported Saturday.

The project aims to enable people to increase food production

and rural infrastructure through food-for-work activities, including irrigation, land improvement and drinking water supply.

Women are expected to improve their agricultural skills,

literacy and health under the help of food-for-training programs.

The Chinese government will cover the transportation and

delivery costs for the donated food, according to the agreement.

Another UN agency, the International Fund for Agricultural

Development (IFAD), will co-finance the project with preferential loans of 84 million U.S. dollars, most of them being petty loans to the poor or for use in infrastructure construction, the newspaper said.

This operational contract is the first one under the WFP

Country Program for China 2001-2005 that was approved last year.

Under the Country Program, WFP promised to provide China's

western area with 340,000 tons of wheat in support of integrated

rural development and 200,000 tons of food to feed children at

school, according to the China Daily.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2002)