FAO/WFP CROP AND FOOD SUPPLY ASSESSMENT MISSION TO RWANDA - 1 JULY 1997

Abstract

In the second semester of 1997, Rwanda will have to feed 1.6 million people more than during the same period a year ago - an increase of 25 percent. This is above all the result of massive returns of refugees, which amounted to close to 1.2 million Rwandans in the two months of November and December 1996 alone. Between January and May 1997, an additional 175 000 refugees returned, and a further 40 000 are expected during the remainder of this year. For a small country like Rwanda, these are dram atic changes which present both enormous challenges and opportunities: in the short run, they put a heavy strain on the country’s limited food resources, while in the long run offering the prospect of restoring Rwanda’s agricultural economy to pre-crisis levels and realizing its full capacity.