Dept of Agriculture donates €1m to Niger aid effort

The Department of Agriculture has announced a €1m donation to the World Food Programme to help the people of drought-stricken Niger.

Millions of people in the impoverished west African nation are facing severe food shortages due to a lack of rains, crop failure and plagues of locusts.

Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan said last night that she had decided to divert €1m to buy food aid for Niger that had been saved by her department due to falling animal disease levels.

The money comes on top of aid allocations already announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs.