Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
18 June 2008
Kigali — Low investment and hoarding are to blame for the ongoing global food crisis which has very simple solutions - "more production and productivity", President Paul Kagame said on Wednesday.
Instead of countries acknowledging the problem of food by investing more into production, Mr. Kagame said they have been hoarding every produce they have thereby creating current shortfalls.
"You will realize that every country has been rushing to hoard what they have - those that produce rice stopped exporting", Mr. Kagame told Press Conference.
He said instead of Rwandan farmers taking advantage of the crisis to sell their produce at competitive prices, they have just been "throwing it away" at very low prices.
Amid rising food prices locally - explained by producers as caused by high oil prices, it was discovered that a cooperative group had been monopolizing the market by holding back sales of food to keep prices artificially high. Its activities have since been ended and prices stabilized.
"We discovered that this problem (of food shortage) does not affect Rwanda because for the last two seasons we have produced more than we need", Mr. Kagame said at his monthly press briefing.
"Instead of maximizing on the (current high) prices to reap more revenue that could again be reinvested for more expanded production, some people have even been keeping their produce in granaries which usually rots."
The President said Rwandans are doing themselves a "disincentive" when they just keep their food or "just throw" it away at very low prices.
Last week, a senior World Bank official also said Rwanda should look the current worldwide high food prices as an opportunity to invest more to have marketable quantities.
World Bank Chief Economist Dr. Justin Yifu Lin also announced a $10 million grant for Rwanda over the next two year to be invested into developing food security.
However, what remains clear is that most of the necessities such as sugar, potatoes, beans, maize flour and bananas have seem their costs shooting high as fuel also goes up. A litre of diesel is now selling at about Rwf. 1000 (about $1.5).
President Kagame said local farmer need to sell at market prices to get more revenue for further investment - 'putting productivity into consideration because the country does not have so much land".
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