Katie Blake's List: specific for DRC

• Effects of the war on agricultural production
• The situation has been aggravated by the war since 1998 with associated massive  population displacements
• 2000 show continuing declines in living conditions
• Chronic malnutrition affects 18 percent of children in the inner city and over  30 percent in the outskirts where war-displaced people have been settling
• The FAO Mission visited the country from 20 September to 10 October 2000
• had discussions with senior officials in Ministries of Agriculture, Planning and  National Reconstruction, Manpower, and Finance
• UN and bilateral missions were also consulted, including UNDP, WFP, OCHA  (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), the European Union, and  the Belgian, Italian and US Embassies.
• Mission met the Governor and staff of Bas-Congo, and the Mayors of Boma  (Bas-Congo) and Kikwit (Bandundu). Traders, shippers and representatives of  farmers' associations were also interviewed.
• The main factors constraining food supply to Kinshasa include the extreme state  of disrepair of the road infrastructure
• as well as feeder roads; police/military harassment of shippers, traders and  farmers; the cut-off of food supply from Equateur and Eastern Provinces due to  the ongoing war; the scarcity of fuel due to a shortage of foreign exchange; and  the overvalued official exchange rate which is pushing business transactions to  the parallel market.
• recommends that the Government should move to enforce its directives against  police/military harassment and illegal levies at road check points, ports and  market places. Secondly, it should unify the official and parallel exchange  rates by devaluation of the Congolese franc
• donors should assist the Government to urgently repair critical sections of main  roads leading to Kinshasa
• The international community should also urge the Government and rebel groups in  the ongoing conflict to establish humanitarian corridors
• , which would allow a resumption of food and other trade between Kinshasa and  the eastern and northern provinces
• despite its large size on 2 268 000 km² of mostly fertile land and its  considerable mineral and forest resources, has not managed to provide a decent  standard of living for its population
• Economic decline has been accelerated by spurts of civil strife in 1991 and  1993, and the outbreak of the current war in 1998
• Likewise, production of coffee and palm oil, the main agricultural exports,  dropped by 34 percent and 30 percent respectively during the same period.
• The unstable environment has discouraged investment and even the maintenance of  existing infrastructure and capital stock.
• The poor performance of the economy does not allow the Government to collect  enough revenues to finance investment in economic and social infrastructure, and  regular governmental functions, in addition to spending on the current war.
• In February 2000, an IMF mission recommended, among other things, harmonisation  of the official and parallel exchange rates for the Congolese franc and the  gradual lifting of price controls
• Shrinking revenues, a dearth of hard currency and the ongoing war which has  preoccupied Government attention and resource allocation, have not allowed any  significant investment in agriculture
• With the exception of such limited Government efforts as the promotion of food  production on the Bateke Plateau near Kinshasa
• past and present agricultural projects have generally been financed by  international organisations, bilateral assistance, NGOs, and, occasionally,  provincial governments.
• But external assistance to agriculture has had limited impact, due to the  politically and economically unstable environment.
• Farming communities have been subjected to frequent displacements since the 1991  and 1993 civil uprisings up to the current war which started in 1998.
• displacements have resulted in overcrowding on marginal land
• Many farms have been abandoned and some agro-industrial companies, notably in  the Bas-Congo and Bandundu provinces, have but ceased all activities, while  perennial crops on estates have reverted to bush
• since 1998 with the outbreak of the war which has been forcing large numbers of  people to flock to the city's relative safety. The newcomers settle on marginal  land in the city's outskirts or join relatives in the already impoverished and  overcrowded households in the inner city.
• A 1999 study concluded that 50 to 57 percent of Kinshasa's population lived on  less than US$1 a day per person, and that 85 to 89 percent spent more than 50  percent of their income on food.
• since the beginning of the war in 1998, supplies to Kinshasa from rebel held  areas, notably Equateur Province, Oriental Province, Nord-Kivu and parts of  Kasaï Province, which accounted for a large share of the total supplies to the  city, have been cut off.
• The need to urgently repair key feeder roads cannot be overemphasized. Farmers  and officials in Bas-Congo and Bandundu Provinces informed the Mission that only  about 15 percent of food production from isolated and distant localities, some  representing major food producing areas, reach any market outlet
• Police and military harassment at road checkpoints in the provinces and at  Kinshasa ports and parking lots is a serious constraint to Kinshasa's food  supply
• It is widely condemned by the business community, civil society and Government  officials.
• Poor market information is another factor hindering trade in basic foodstuffs.  Farmers in remote villages and traders in provincial towns seldom know about  prevailing prices in Kinshasa. Also, concerns about inflation and the scarcity  of basic consumer goods has led to an increase in barter trade
• Food crops in Bas-Congo, Bandundu and Kinshasa provinces are mainly produced by  farm families using traditional methods and simple hand tools.
• little use is made of chemical fertilizers or improved seeds.
• two main cropping seasons:
• Principal food crops include cassava (the main staple), maize, rice, groundnuts,  beans, bananas and coco yams particularly in Bas-Congo province. Vegetables are  produced in the low lands during the dry season as well as around the main  cities and in household compounds.
• suspension of donor assistance following the 1991 and 1993 looting of research  stations and extension facilities for seed production and distribution
• Civil strife and war since 1997, the deteriorating road and rail infrastructure,  shortages of inputs and the resurgence of cassava diseases, have accelerated the  decline in food production
• Yields were adversely affected by floods, poor-quality seeds and plant diseases
• Cattle rearing is mainly in the Eastern Provinces which are in rebel hands.
• But the government's budget constraints make it unlikely that the programme  will be fully implemented

41 more annotations...

• The United States has been actively engaged in facilitating the Tripartite  Plus talks
• Goma Accord

• • type of program in DRC = protracted crisis is the conlfict of armed goups for the last 10 years

• • list of programs the UN World Food Program has in the DRC. one is armed conlfict program