Within the next 10 days or so the rains should have set in properly which means it is important to get all the seeds out within this time. This is a crucial period - with greater air access all the agencies are working on a very tight deadline. There are big problems and difficult decisions to make. For example, it is essential there is a food distribution by WFP before the seed distributions take place, or else people might eat the seed and not plant it. Distributions into such a vast area with such poor communications are extremely difficult to arrange and to manage.
Numbers can be difficult to estimate.
At Agangrial 21,000 people were targeted but 25,000 showed up. It was good news though that only 16 cases of severe malnutrition were recorded at Agangrial. It is also tough for people to walk long distances to collect food - and then have to set off again almost immediately to collect seed. People are very keen to plant, but they are worried that the rain this year may be like last year - inconsistent and not conducive to regular cultivation. Therefore Oxfam is giving out some quick-maturing varieties of groundnut and sorghum seed.