350,000 farming families assisted

In response to the effects of drought and population regroupment in parts of Burundi, FAO has distributed seeds and tools to about 350,000 farming households, representing about 27 percent of the country’s population, FAO said in a statement received by IRIN. Most of the materials were distributed to people in Bujumbura Rurale, Kirundo and Muyinga provinces, which were particularly affected by drought last November and by recent regroupment practices, it said. The distribution campaign for the 2000B agricultural season took place from 1 February to 15 March in collaboration with the government, 11 international NGOs, the Red Cross and UNHCR. WFP provided all beneficiaries with food rations as “seed protection”, the statement added.