DRC food imports boost local supply

Market prices have remained relatively stable in areas affected by poor rainfall distribution, with the exception of Umutara where prices have risen sharply in the last two weeks, the latest monthly bulletin from USAID’s Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) stated. It said recent assessments had found that imports of staple food from the DRC were helping to maintain market supplies in Rwanda. Overall, dry conditions in October had harmed prospects for the 2000 season A bean and maize crop in one-half of Rwanda, the report said. “Total crop loss is expected in some locations, and yields will be very low throughout the affected region,” it said. An inter-agency assessment team in early November recommended that WFP double its food distributions in drought-affected areas - from 3,000 mt per month to 7,000 mt.