FAO estimates that 37 countries are in need of external assistance for food. Civil conflict continues to be a main driver of severe food insecurity, triggering famine in South Sudan and putting populations at high risk of localized famine in Yemen and northern Nigeria.

Weather shocks, notably droughts, have also impinged on food availability and access, and have in particular compounded the fragile situation in Somalia where famine conditions continue to be a threat. In Afghanistan, where dry weather delayed plantings in parts and prompted some farmers to postpone wheat plantings until the spring season, a slightly below-average wheat harvest of 4.6 million tonnes is forecast in 2017.

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