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Eritrean farmers ordered to sell crops only to government |
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Addis Ababa, November 30, 2007 (WIC) - All grain traders in Eritrea have been ordered to stop storing, selling or bartering any wheat, barley or peanuts effective immediately, according to Awate.com. The directive states that any violation of the decree will be treated as an act of sedition resulting in harshest consequences. The farmers are to sell their grain to the government, which plans to send all the wheat to the flour mills of Asmara and Dekemhare, where there is severe shortage. The barley will be sent to Asmara Brewery (Melotti) to alleviate shortage in beer. The peanuts are to be used as a cash crop—for export only. Farmers in the environs of Keren have been told that they are to sell their peanuts to the government at 800.00 Nakfa per quintal, the website elaborated. The farmers have replied that the suggested price for peanuts is unfair; that their customers, particularly new mothers and those with diabetes and “gastric acid” are relying on their supply of barley. The government has not been moved by these appeals. Poor women who sell barley at the “mercato” were forcibly removed. The local mills have been ordered to stop their operations and even people who have access to grain cannot use it. The military is using bread which, according to our source, is “hard as a rock.” White flour (“Fino”) is now selling for 3,800 Nakfa per quintal and the hyperinflationary market of Asmara has increased the city's population of beggars and citizens suffering from mental health problems, it concluded. |
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