BRAZZAVILLE, 2 December 2008 (IRIN) - Government measures aimed at reducing the cost of staple commodities in the Republic of Congo, where salaries have remained unchanged for years, have failed to stem food inflation. Many people have been forced to change their diets, which has had an adverse impact on health.

"It is getting harder to eat," Ernest Mbou, a local teacher, who heads a family of eight, told IRIN.

"Each time before going to the market I have to go to the bank," Mbou said. He spends 7,500 FCFA (about US$14) each time his wife goes to the market - up from the usual 4,000.

For years, the average Congolese salary - for those fortunate enough to have jobs - has been about 60,000 FCFA ($120) per month.

"Now when I get my salary ... we eat good quality food during the first week; then the rest of the days we get by on breakfast and a meal at 4pm," he said.

Nearly all commodities have recorded sharp price increases. In six months, the price of a bag of foufou (manioc flour) has more than doubled, as have rice and vegetables.

Health issues

Soaring food prices are also adversely affecting health. "When you cannot have two quality meals each day, inevitably, there are health repercussions, especially for infants. That's the case today," Haddjins Kouffa, president of the NGO Congo Assistance Médicale, told IRIN.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Congo suffers a "silent hunger" underlined by a high prevalence of anaemia, caused by a lack of iron, which is needed for the development of haemoglobin.

At least 400,000 children under-five have anaemia, while 100,000 pregnant women and more than 500,000 women of reproductive age also suffer the deficiency, according to recent health and nutrition surveys.

Tax measures

On 12 May, the government introduced fiscal measures aimed at controlling rising prices of essential commodities, including cutting value added tax from 18 to 5 percent on wheat flour, table salt, tomatoes, vegetable oil, rice and cassava flour, smoked and salted fish, meat and powdered milk.

However, these measures will take time to have an impact, according to Prime Minister Isidore M'vouba.

He said the tax cuts were an emergency measure but the solution to the food price inflation lay in radical structural changes as the inflation had been brought about by food imports.

It would be necessary to introduce structural measures to revive domestic production, he said, adding that the scarcity of goods was behind the price surge.

Congo imports most of its food, spending an estimated 130 billion FCFA ($260 million) annually, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Despite the government having prioritised the agriculture sector for decades, positive change had yet to be seen, said the executive director of the Congolese human rights group Roger Bouka-Owoko.

Bouka-Owoko said the country of about three million people had yet to find durable solutions to the key problems affecting the population; meanwhile, "the country will continue ... to spend billions to import food".

Although Congo has about 10 million hectares of arable land, only 2 percent has been exploited for agricultural production, leading to over-reliance on imports.

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