DR of Congo: UN agency to rebuild roads in bid to bring food to hungry people

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today announced that it is beginning a road rehabilitation and construction project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), calling it a “vital step” in bringing food to the hungry and boosting agricultural production.

“Farmers without access to local and regional markets cannot sell their products and earn their income. If food supply is reduced and doesn’t reach the cities, prices often go up,” said Alexis Bonte, FAO’s Emergency Coordinator for the eastern part of the DRC. “This is why the rehabilitation of roads is so crucial for fighting hunger and malnutrition. Where farmers earn money, they will be able to diversify their diet and to pay for health care and education.”

FAO will first focus on two roads in North Kivu, close to Goma, which link rural communities with big food markets. Roads will also be rehabilitated in Bandundi and Bas-Congo provinces. At a later stage, the Old Buta Road near Kisangani will be rehabilitated, as well as the so-called Elephant Road, also near Kisangani. The project also includes a food-for-work component operated in cooperation with the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

“The benefit for the local population does not end once the project is completed. We will hand over wheelbarrows, spades, shovels, hoes and crowbars to the people living along the roads, and they will be responsible for maintaining the roads,” Ms. Bonte added.

The DRC is among the countries with the highest percentage of undernourished people worldwide, with 73 percent chronically hungry, according to FAO.