(VHeadline.com) - "Venezuela became the first Latin American donor for projects in Africa, under the FAO/governments program and in accordance with national programs for food security, said the director general of the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), Jacques Diouf, according to a press release published by the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication & Information.

In a communiqué sent to the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Italy, it was disclosed that Venezuela is funding two projects with $3.9 million benefiting people in Burkina Faso and Mali, in collaboration with the FAO.

FAO director Jacques Diouf thanked 'President Hugo Chávez' move, which amounts to a very significant step in international cooperation for development and the fight against poverty and food insecurity.'