The Archbishop of Bangui blames Séléka for causing the displacement of farmers.

As the 32^nd World Food Day was celebrated yesterday, October 16, 2013, the Catholic Archbishop of Bangui in the Central African Republic, CAR, warned of looming famine in the country as a result of disruptions caused to farming by the defunct Séléka rebels.

Speaking to Radio France Internationale, RFI, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, explained that the people could not prepare their farms for planting in April because it coincided with the rebel onslaught on the capital, Bangui that eventually led to the overthrow of President François Bozizé. Consequently, farming activities were disrupted as granaries were also looted or burnt, the cleric noted.

These farmers are now beggars, dependent on foreign food handouts, not because they were lazy, but because they did not get the opportunity to plant. The Archbishop said the food situation in Bangui was fast approaching alarming proportions because surrounding towns and communities that usually supplied food to the city were no longer able to do so, adding that farmers continue to seek refuge in bushes to escape Séléka violence. According to the World Food Programme, WFP, over half of the 97 million people receiving its food assistance worldwide are in Africa, with the East and Central African sub-regions most affected by malnutrition.

Elisabeth Birs, spokesperson for WFP, says the situation is affecting the economies of these countries, thereby hampering development.  On the other hand, Doctors Without Borders, MSF, says over 30,000 people were recently displaced in northwestern CAR, especially in Bossangoa area by the activities of armed groups and government soldiers. The people who have taken refuge in bushes, are particularly exposed to malaria, the major cause of mortality in the country.

Their hygienic conditions are disastrous, increasing risks of epidemic outbreak as they cook, eat, sleep, bathe and excrete on the same spot, explains Ellen Van der Velden, head of MSF in CAR. According to Dr André Munger who works in the country, if the situation persists, it will become difficult for these people to get to the few functional health centres to receive treatment, given that most aid agencies fled the country after their structures and drugs were looted or vandalised by rebels.