From irin@dha.unon.org Mon Oct 21 14:31:55 1996 Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 10:30:15 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes To: irinwire@dha.unon.org Subject: Rwanda: WFP Seed campaign kicks off in Rwanda 96.10.4 WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME NEWS BRIEF 4 October, 1996 Seed Campaign Kicks Off in Rwanda The United Nations World Food Programme this week began distributing packages of bean seed and food to nearly 75,000 vulnerable farming families in Rwanda. WFP is providing more than US$ 1 million of food aid and 50 tons of high altitude bean seed to help farmers increase their yields over the coming months. "Hunger often drives farmers to the point where they eat their scarce seed stocks," says Zlatan Milisic, WFP's Information Officer in Rwanda. "For this reason, food and seeds are being distributed simultaneously. Also traditionally, more food is consumed during the planting season -- a time of heavy physical labor." The programme will benefit families primarily in the prefectures of Butare, Gikongoro and Kibuye, and the areas of Bugesera and Nasho, all of which are considered to be "high risk" areas for crop failure and food shortages. Each family will receive eight kilograms of seeds along with a 40 kilo package of rice, beans and vegetable oil. This is enough food to sustain a family of five during the main month of the planting season. The family's food package is worth approximately US$ 28 in Rwanda. The World Bank puts Rwanda's average annual per capita income at US$ 80. According to a recent assessment by WFP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the European Union (EU), some 576,000 Rwandans still require food aid support. While Rwanda's war-wracked agricultural sector has been steadily recovering over the last two years, crop production remains 23 per cent below pre-war levels. WFP is currently providing food to 350,000 Rwandans in more than 400 activities countrywide. More than 65 per cent of WFP's assistance in Rwanda is provided through food-for work programmes. In these programmes, community members receive WFP food packages as compensation for their work on local rehabilitation projects that help improve agriculture, clean fisheries, build houses, develop water catchments, repair roads, and other infrastructure rebuilding activities. WFP's seed protection packages are part of a joint programme supported by the EU and FAO. *** The United Nations World Food Programme is the largest international food aid organization in the world. Last year,WFP fed more than 50 million people, including half of the world's refugees and internally displaced people. For More Information, Contact: Michele Quintaglie Information Officer WFP Kenya Tel. 622336 Zlatan Milisic Information Officer WFP Rwanda Tel. (250) 76486/74688/76368 [ENDS] [Via the UN DHA Integrated Regional Information Network "Wire" mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN DHA IRIN Tel: +254 2 441125 Fax: +254 2 448816 e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org for more information. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]