ICRC News Release - Côte d'Ivoire: Some 17,500 people to resume farming

Abidjan (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will today begin to distribute seed and tools to 2,500 families – 17,500 individuals – in Toulepleu, Blolequin and Guiglo.

"The distribution is taking place a few weeks before the rainy season. It is intended mainly for people who fled during the events of 2004 but have decided to return to the area now that it is calm again. The distribution will also benefit those who lost a high proportion of their harvests when flooding occurred in December 2008," said Yves Van Loo, who heads the ICRC sub-delegation in Guiglo.

Those receiving the aid are people whose primary occupation is farming but who cannot afford to buy high-quality seed for the upcoming growing season. "Obtaining basic seed has been my main concern since returning to the village almost five months ago. Now I feel relieved to be able to cultivate my fields again thanks to support from the ICRC," said Goho Gabriel, a man in his fifties living in Toulepleu.

The aid distributed in cooperation with Ivorian Red Cross volunteers – rice and corn seed, and hoes – should enable those receiving it to resume, after a long interruption, the farming activities they carried out in former days. Eventually, they will be able to build up their seed stocks again using proper grain preservation techniques.

The Guiglo sub-delegation opened in 2005. It is one of five local facilities under the supervision of the ICRC's delegation in Côte d'Ivoire. The delegation's work consists mainly in visiting places of detention, enhancing economic security, upgrading water-supply systems, promoting hygiene and supporting medical services. The ICRC also provides support for the efforts of the Red Cross Society of Côte d'Ivoire to help needy people, and spreads knowledge of international humanitarian law among personnel of the country's defence and security forces.