Small pockets of food insecurity likely October-November, FEWS NET reports

Small pockets of food insecurity are likely to appear by October-November in 12 of Rwanda's 95 districts, mainly in high altitude zones, The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET), reported on 13 August.

FEWS NET said its "initial, very rough estimate" of the those likely to be affected was 150,000 to 200,000, equivalent to about 2 percent of the country's population. Accordingly, it added, "Humanitarian agencies (particularly the World Food Programme) should plan to increase their current food assistance programme, preferably in the form of food-for-work opportunities."

FEWS NET was citing a recent joint crop assessment report submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture in early August. The extent and duration of aid would, it said, depend on the rainfall pattern for the next season. However, FEWS NET reported that with 1,928 kilocalories per person per day, estimated from local production and assuming that previous levels of imports will be maintained, "the evaluation mission had concluded that the food situation would be fairly good in Rwanda up to the end of the year".