Key Messages
Staple foods, including maize, peanuts and pulses, from agricultural season B in the northeast and center-east of DRC are ready to harvest. Above-average rainfall in the east of the country (Tanganyika, South Kivu and North Kivu) has caused flooding and landslides that in some areas blocked roads and disrupted agriculture. As a result, it is expected that agricultural production may be below normal in these affected areas.
In ex-Katanga, the usual increase in prices for staple goods, particularly maize flour, that occurs every first trimester of the year was averted this year due to the flow of imported food from Zambia that has supplied markets in Katanga and the Kasai region. This situation has negatively affected local producers, who normally sell at higher prices this time of year, but who are receiving lower prices for their production this year because of the higher than normal supply in the markets.
At the same time, prices for cassava flour have decreased 6 and 50 percent respectively in Bukavu and Lubumbashi markets. On the other hand, in Kalemie where flooding has affected the ability of farmers to dry cassava, prices for cassava flour remains high, rising by 43 percent from April to May. Markets in Kabalo and Uvira are also experiencing similar trends in prices.
The continuing activity of armed groups, especially ADF/NALU in Beni and Luburo territories in North Kivu, and the response by FARDC that has begun military operations in this area, has created an unprecedented environment of widespread insecurity. This situation that is taking place amid the main activities of the 2018 agricultural Season A will have negative effects on the overall level of agricultural production in this normally surplus producing area for staple crops.