FAO presents $50 million emergency plan as Ethiopia faces worst drought in 30 years

10.2 million food insecure after major crop failure, livestock losses due to El Niño

Photo ©FAO/Filippo Brasesco

15 January 2016, Rome - The strongest El Niño weather episode in the last several decades has caused repeated crop failure, decimated livestock herds and driven some 10.2 million people across Ethiopia into food insecurity, FAO reported today as it presented its emergency response plan to urgently protect livestock and rebuild crop production in the Horn of Africa nation.

"The outlook for 2016 is very grim," said Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative for Ethiopia, adding that "after two consecutive seasons of failed crops, the success of the main cropping season that starts now will be critical to preventing conditions from worsening."