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7 May 2003, Rome -- The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a report released today called
for more food aid pledges and accelerated emergency food
deliveries in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Mauritania to avert possible
famines.
Calling overall harvest prospects
in southern Africa "generally favourable" with
the exceptions of Zimbabwe, parts of Swaziland and southern
Mozambique, the report warned that food and crop prospects in
other parts of sub-Saharan Africa remain unfavourable with 25
countries facing food emergencies.*
That
number remains unchanged since FAO issued its last report on the
region in December 2002.
Food
Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan
Africa reports that the food supply situation in
several countries of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mauritania and Zimbabwe, remains grim mainly
due to severe droughts in previous agricultural seasons. The
report also calls for "specific measures,"
such as feeding and watering points and easier access to
markets, to provide relief to the livestock sector.
The escalation and/or continuing conflict in a number
of countries, including Burundi, Central African Republic,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Liberia, has
aggravated food insecurity by disrupting agricultural
activities.
There has been widespread
destruction of assets, looting and population displacement in
the Central African Republic, which suggests reduced food
production for this year. In the Republic of Congo, a resurgence
of fighting in the areas surrounding the capital of Brazzaville
has displaced at least 84 000 people. An Ebola outbreak in the
Cuvette region has further aggravated the humanitarian
situation.
For the many countries affected
by conflict and adverse weather, including Angola, Burundi, Côte
d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe, the report calls for agricultural
rehabilitation assistance that provides such things as seeds,
hand-tools and fertilizer to help farmers resume agricultural
production.
In southern Africa, the report
says that farmers need help in marketing any available surplus
under favourable conditions, and in preparing for next cropping
season.
The report indicates that cereal
import requirements in sub-Saharan Africa in 2003 are expected
to remain high, reflecting mainly the effects of last
year's droughts in southern, eastern and western Africa.
FAO puts the total food aid requirement at 4.6 million tonnes,
against the 2 million tonnes it estimated in 2001/02.
Cereal food aid pledges for 2002/03, including those
carried over from 2001/02, amount to 2.1 million tonnes of which
1.7 million tonnes have so far been delivered.
Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in
Sub-Saharan Africa is based on information collected
by FAO from various sources in the field, including UN agency
staff, governments, non-governmental organizations and
representatives of the Southern African Development Conference
(SADC) and the Comité Permanent Inter-Etats de lutte contre la
sécheresse au Sahel (CILSS). Additional and more detailed
information will be available once ongoing joint FAO/World Food
Programme Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions to Angola,
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are
completed.
*The 25 countries facing food
emergencies are:
Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central
African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of
Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya,
Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique,
Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Contact:
Contact:
John Riddle
Information
Officer, FAO
john.riddle@fao.org
(+39) 06
570 53259
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