UN to revive Sri Lanka's rural economy

The United Nations says it plans to spend more than $13m to revive food production in war-torn northern Sri Lanka.

The UN food agency the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) says the money will be used to finance 15 projects in agriculture, fisheries and livestock development aimed at helping thousands of people affected by two decades of conflict.

A senior FAO official RB Singh said the civil war had shattered Sri Lanka's rural economy, and the initiative would improve the government's ability to monitor nutrition levels in the north.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service