A round table discussion/debate on the opportunities and risks of biofuels production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was recently held and attended by academics from the University of Kinshasa, representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, WWF experts, and civil society/international organizations. The event was coordinated by the Réseau de Promotion de la Démocratie et des Droits Economiques et Sociaux (PRODDES), and supported by the NGO 'Solidarité socialiste'. The country is said to have a largely untapped agricultural potential which could be harnessed for the production of food and biofuels. According to the Congo Forum website, there was a generally positive and optimistic view of biofuels, and this could be explained by “the country's struggle with food production and the disastrous effects of high oil prices.” The hunger problem in the DRC is said to have worsened due to the surge in fossil fuel prices. Rural communities now have difficulty selling their cash crops to the cities because of increasingly prohibitive transport costs. When the food reaches the cities, it would already become very expensive for the average Congolese. Dutch Development Organization Coordinator, Alain Rousseaux, mentioned that locally produced biofuels can contribute to the reversal of the catastrophic situation in the country. “Farming communities, who face not the slightest shortage of land, can grow their own fuel, thus limit their food production costs and bring the products to market at a far lower cost than if they were to rely on ultra-costly diesel and gasoline.”. The high cost of petroleum-based fuels for food production would be significantly reduced by less costly biofuels..