The United States will donate $10 million In emergency food aid and another $30 million in food aid through a three-year school feeding programme in the country.

"The primary beneficiaries of the new$ 10 million emergency food aid will be those still struggling to recover from the devastating effects of cyclone Sidr," said US Ambassador to Bangladesh James E

Moriarty at a press conference at the American Recreation Association in the city yesterday.

He said the US is donating the food aid to negate the rising food prices which have made it difficult for the poorest to afford their meals.

"The food shortage is not a problem, the problem is affordability," said local USAID chief Denise Rollins while answering questions at the conference.

The $30 million will go towards

3.5 lakh school children across the country, by providing a 75-gram packet of fortified biscuits each day to primary school students.

"The goal of the programme is to increase primary school enrolment, attendance and reduce dropout rates," said Moriarty, addingthat the programme will also aim at raising the students' attention T>pan and learning capacity through alleviat-ingshort-term hunger.

Rollins said the food aid would

save the country’sforeign exchange, as the government would not have to spend precious foreign currency on importingfood.

The US has provided $70 million in food aid since last October. The US has so far donated over $2.5 billion in food aid to the country since its independence.

Moriarty also met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday, but he declined to share the subject matter of the meeting.