Planting season begins in northeast

Farmers in Sibut, Kemo province in northeastern Central African Republic (CAR), have received groundnut seeds from a Canadian humanitarian NGO, Oxfam Quebec, and machetes from the French government, an Oxfam official told IRIN on Wednesday. The Oxfam representative in CAR, Lucie Pelletier, said the 21-25 May distribution covered 42 villages where 4,194 farmers from 2,264 families received groundnut seeds. She said each family received 10 kg of seeds. The French government, through the Cooperation Francaise (cooperation service) distributed machetes to the farmers. Sibut area, 185 km northeast of the CAR capital, Bangui, is a major producer of groundnuts in the country. "The farmers had already prepared their fields for seeding," Pelletier said, adding that they had already planted cassava, which is the staple food in the area. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) distributed maize flour to 10,324 people in Sibut, to coincide with the Oxfam seed distribution, to avoid the consumption of the groundnut seeds by the farmers. WFP representative in the CAR David Bulman told IRIN on Wednesday that the WFP distribution was a "seed-protection ration that will give strength and courage to farmers". Bulman said that families comprising five people or less received 25 kg of maize flour and those with more than five people received 50 kg that would last "about one month". He added that WFP had distributed only maize flour because there was no other type of food, due to the looting of its warehouses following the 15 March coup. Many provinces in the north, including Kemo, were directly affected by six months of fighting between October 2002 and March 2003, pitting government troops against rebel forces. Sibut was among the worst affected towns as it changed hands repeatedly. Some of its residents are still hiding but, according to Bulman, "the majority have returned home". "This is the first stage of assistance in the area directly affected by the fighting," Bulman said. In April, WFP suspended its food delivery to the CAR, pending full restoration of security and the transfer of its warehouses to a safer location.