Government plans to set up Centre of Excellence on food security

BRASILIA: The government is planning to set up a Centre of Excellence ( CENEX) on food security in Delhi, on similar lines of Brazil, that would act as a think-tank and support government initiatives.

The centre would be set up in collaboration with the UN agency World Food Programme (WFP).

The WFP and Brazilian government had in November 2011 in a joint initiative launched the Centre of Excellence to fight against hunger and improve food security.

A delegation led by India's Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was on a three-day visit to Brazil to study its food security policies and programmes.

"India is proposing to set up a CENEX on food security in Delhi," Paswan told PTI.

The proposed centre would be an institution which will act as an inter-ministerial think-tank and support government initiatives, he said.

"In matters relating to food security and social welfare, the centre would play an important role," Paswan said.

Earlier this year, the minister had signed a Letter of Intent with Etharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP) in this regard.

"We are firming up the strategy for starting the Centre of Excellence in Delhi," he added.

During its visit to the South American country, the delegation studied the Brazilian Food and Nutrition Security policies, food production and distribution system.

Paswan informed Brazilian ministers about initiatives for food security taken by the Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The main objective of the centre is to collate the best practices followed to ensure efficient procurement, distribution and storage, among others, within India.