 Cassava is a staple food - A. Spijkers |
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, FAO and WFP are working together within the framework of an ACC Network-affiliated group - the Consultative Group on Cassava - to ensure sustainable production of the root crop. Cassava is a staple food for 70 percent of the population but in recent years there has been a significant decline in yields in the country (from 19.4 million tonnes in 1995 to 15.9 million tonnes in 2000), leading to widespread reports of food insecurity.
In December 2000, the Consultative Group on Cassava organized a visit by a group of scientists from Nigeria to help identify the causes of the shrinking cassava harvests. The multidisciplinary team of scientists, from the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), made field trips to the Kinshasa and Bas Congo provinces, where they found that pests and diseases, including cassava mosaic virus, were the major causes of the decrease in production.
The Group coordinated a series of meetings with representatives of the government, the international community and the private sector, and presented immediate and medium-term measures for action.
As a result of the initiative, a multidonor project is being formulated: "Accelerated generation and deployment of cassava technologies for enhanced and sustainable food availability and poverty alleviation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". With an estimated budget of about US$5 million for five years, the project will cover the 11 provinces of the country.
FAO, IFAD and WFP finalized a Guidance note on household food security and nutrition in a concerted effort to promote common understanding of food security issues both within the UN system and beyond. The note is intended for field offices and identifies multisectoral approaches to improving food security and reducing malnutrition.
The note was presented at the Special Session of the Economic and Social Council on Eliminating Hunger in the New Millennium. There, the heads of the three Rome-based agencies briefed the Council on activities to improve food security worldwide, stressing the need for all UN agencies to work jointly.
 Experts assess the health of cassava in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - A. Spijkers |
