Improved productivity in northwest

Preliminary results of a joint food assessment mission to northwestern Rwanda last month indicate that more land is being cultivated with improved productivity, particularly in the fertile volcanic soils. According to a humanitarian update from UN-OCHA in Kigali, the northwest was already supplying other prefectures of the country with certain products such as potatoes and vegetables. Market prices for staple food crops remained low and continued to go down. “Farmers are forced to sell the potatoes at a cheap price partially because they are not able to store them,” the report stated. Although the situation had improved significantly, families with very small plots, those who have no access to land, those recently settled (less than three months) and widow or child-headed households were still considered to be the most vulnerable, the report said. It said the FAO estimated that 90,000 people in Ruhengeri and 60,000 in Gisenyi still needed “immediate assistance” with quality seeds, cattle re-stocking and agricultural produce storage. Access to clean water was still a major problem for the population in the northwest, the report said. Due to the resettlement process, local residents often moved away from the water springs. A number of existing water supply systems needed to be rehabilitated and extended to where the people were now living. Hygiene was very poor in most of the public places, the report added.