BURUNDI* (15 September)
Planting of the 2004 first-season foodcrops, to be harvested early next year, has started under normal conditions so far.
Quantities for the 2003 first- and second-season foodcrops have been estimated slightly below last year’s production levels, reflecting erratic weather and insecurity. Overall the production of cereals in 2003 declined 3 percent from 2002; pulses, 5 percent; roots and tubers, 3 percent; and banana and plantains, 3 percent. In addition, production of all foodcrops, except root and tubers, remains below the averages from before the civil conflict period (1988–93) which, coupled with the increase in population, has lowered per capita food production. As the most marked reduction has been in pulses, which are the protein source of the majority of the population, food-ration quality has consequently deteriorated as well.
The security situation remains volatile in many areas of Burundi, including in the capital city of Bujumbura, and in Cibitoke, Kayanza, Bujumbura Rural and Bubanza provinces where serious incidents of violence have been reported, resulting in fresh waves of population displacements including over 15 000 people in the Mubimbi commune of Bujumbura Rural province.