20 April 2009: Over the last three decades, Burundi has suffered the consequences of violence, leading to an outflow of hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees in successive waves to neighbouring countries, mostly Tanzania. These crises have led to a steady decline in food production, the disruption of basic services provided to the population and the destruction and deterioration of infrastructure.
The volatile situation is compounded by effects of the global food crisis, which came at a critical time for Burundi. In 2008, the net deficit in foodstuffs was estimated at 367,000 tons of cereal-equivalent (or 33 percent of the domestic production). From 1993 to 2008 the population increased from 6 million to more than 8 million inhabitants, while the average yearly food production per capita decreased by 25 percent, thus making Burundians even more vulnerable to shocks.
In response to this situation, CERF allocated $4 million through its 2009 first round underfunded emergency window in order to provide 30,000 affected farmers with the opportunity to strengthen their food security through the rapid resumption of basic farming activities.