"I'm optimistic we'll be able to raise the resources we need," James Morris told reporters in Berlin on a tour of member countries to drum up funds.

"The responses are as good as we could hope for," Morris said. "We've been promised a substantial amount.

"Some of our people are in southern Iraq at the moment to see when it'll be safe to come back and implement the programme."

German Economic Cooperation and Development Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said at a joint press conference with Morris that Germany would donate six million euros (6.5 million dollars) to the WFP.

The WFP launched its appeal Friday, saying it had stocked 26,000 tonnes of food in countries neighbouring Iraq and could feed about two million refugees and displaced people for a month.

It wants to be in a position to feed the Iraqi population, numbering around 27 million, for three months after the conflict.

A supplementary programme would also help the most vulnerable section, 4.6 million people, for a further two months.

Morris said 60 percent of Iraqis depended on food handouts and that the WFP would rely in part on the existing distribution system, which was very good.

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