Conflict aggravates food insecurity in four countries

Fighting in Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo (ROC) has aggravated food insecurity by disrupting agricultural activities in the region, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome reported on Wednesday. "There has been widespread destruction of assets, looting and population displacement in the Central African Republic, which suggests reduced food production for this year," FAO said in the report titled "Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa". The FAO reported that in ROC, a resurgence of fighting in areas surrounding the capital, Brazzaville, has displaced at least 84,000 people. "An Ebola outbreak in the Cuvette region has further aggravated the humanitarian situation," it added. It called for agricultural rehabilitation aid in the four central African countries as well as in five others that are affected by continued conflict. Such aid, FAO said, would provide items such as seeds, hand tools and fertilizer to help farmers resume agricultural production. The FAO report, which said that 25 African countries faced food emergencies, was based on information collected from various sources, including UN agency staff, governments, NGOs and representatives of the Southern African Development Community and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (Comité Permanent Inter-Etats de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel).