When families are forced to flee their villages because of violence, they often have to leave behind some of their most valuable assets: seeds and tools for farming. This leads to an even bigger loss: their harvest.

Because of ongoing violence, food security is a major issue in the Central African Republic. Although some early projects are making a difference, more needs to be done; local food prices are increasing rapidly for food produced both inside and out of CAR .

Between January and April 2008, food prices in CAR increased by an average of 25%; alarmingly, the price for cassava, a staple in CAR, increased by a staggering 50%. These large increases put tremendous pressure on the people of CAR, particularly those living on less than $1 per day (67% of the population).

Now, with the increasing cost of fuel the world over, food prices will undoubtedly continue to rise, further endangering food security and nutrition in CAR.

In response to these issues, the Central African government has put in place a task force led by the Minister for Rural Development . So far, the task force has enacted a temporary freeze in fuel prices and a new agricultural programme to increase local seed and food production.

Members of the food security cluster have also started to take action, picking several target objectives including obtaining better data and pushing diversification of income-generating activities.

For more information, please download:

• 2008 Coordinated Aid Programme Mid-Year Review (PDF - 2.8 MB).
• 2008 Needs Analysis Framework (PDF - 2.1 MB).