|
||
|
TWN Info Service
on Sustainable Agriculture UN: Conflicts
and drought exacerbating food insecurity, says FAO Geneva, 6 Dec (Kanaga Raja) - Conflict and drought conditions are worsening the food insecurity conditions in several parts of the world, especially in East and West Africa, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said. In its latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, FAO said food insecurity conditions are of grave concern in parts of East Africa due to conflict and drought conditions. FAO added that in West Africa, food insecurity is foreseen to worsen to alarming levels in 2022 underpinned by shortfalls in agricultural production and persisting conflicts. FAO has assessed that globally 44 countries, including 33 in Africa, nine in Asia and two in Latin America and the Caribbean, are in need of external assistance for food. FAO said that the 44 countries in need of external assistance for food are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, Tanzania, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SOME REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS According to FAO, in Africa, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, the number of severely food insecure people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and above in the Central African Republic is estimated at 2.1 million between September 2021 and March 2022, due to high levels of civil insecurity. In Kenya, about 2.4 million people are estimated to be severely food insecure between November 2021 and January 2022, reflecting consecutive poor rainy seasons since late 2020 that affected crop and livestock production, mainly in northern and eastern pastoral, agro-pastoral and marginal agricultural areas, said the report. In Niger, according to the latest Cadre Harmonise (CH) analysis, about 2.58 million people are assessed to need humanitarian food assistance between October and December 2021 due to the increase in security incidents that have disrupted agricultural and marketing activities, diminishing households' livelihood opportunities. In addition, domestic cereal production is forecast to fall to a below-average level in 2021, due to effects of adverse weather and the civil conflict, which is expected to further aggravate conditions, said FAO. "As a result, between June and August 2022, 3.64 million people are projected to face severe food insecurity." FAO said about 3.5 million people in Somalia are estimated to be severely food insecure, IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) between October and December 2021, mainly as a result of consecutive poor rainy seasons since late 2020, which severely affected crop and livestock production, and due to heightened conflict since early 2021. It said according to the November 2021 IPC analysis, 27 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are estimated to be severely food insecure between September and December 2021, about 6 million of which are experiencing critical levels of acute food insecurity, IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). "This is due to persisting conflict in eastern provinces, which continues to cause displacements, coupled with the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic," said FAO. The FAO report said according to the latest CH analysis, about 12.9 million people in Nigeria are estimated to be in need of humanitarian food assistance between October and December 2021 because of the worsening conflict that is driving new population displacements, particularly in the northern states, high food prices and reduced household purchasing power. "Over 3 million people are estimated to be internally displaced in northern states due to civil insecurity and natural disasters." The areas inaccessible to humanitarian interventions are facing the worst food insecurity conditions, said FAO. In the upcoming peak of the lean season, between June and August 2022, 18 million people are projected to face severe food insecurity, it added. Despite sustained humanitarian assistance, food insecurity still affects large segments of the population in South Sudan, driven by insufficient food supplies, an economic downturn, high food prices and the lingering impact of widespread floods in 2020, said the FAO report. About 7.2 million people (approximately 60 percent of the total population) were estimated to be severely food insecure between April and July 2021. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, an estimated 3 million people are projected to be in need of humanitarian assistance between January and March 2022, largely on account of poor food access due to prevailing high food prices and reduced incomes owing to the effects of an economic downturn. This number is, however, lower than the figure in the same period in 2021, as a substantial cereal harvest boosted households' food supplies, the report noted. According to the October 2021 CH analysis, about 2.4 million people in Cameroon are projected to be severely food insecure, CH Phase 3 (Crisis) or above, between October and December 2021. FAO said that this is mainly the result of conflict, socio-political unrest and COVID-19-related economic shocks. FAO said that according to the latest CH analysis, about 940,000 people in Liberia were estimated to be in CH Phase 3 (Crisis) and above between June and August 2021 due to high food inflation rates and the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. According to the latest CH analysis, about 305,000 people in Senegal are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance between October and December 2021, mostly reflecting localized production shortfalls due to the effects of adverse weather events on cereal production and reduced incomes of the most vulnerable households on account of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it added. "About 770,000 people are projected to face severe food insecurity in the June to August 2022 period, reflecting persisting food access constraints." According to the FAO report, in the Asian region, a nationwide food security assessment estimated that about 12.4 million people in Syria (60 percent of the overall population) were food insecure in 2020, 5.4 million more than at the end of 2019, mostly due to constrained livelihood opportunities and a rapidly worsening economy. It said a large portion of the population in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea suffers from low levels of food consumption and very poor dietary diversity. According to the FAO report, the persisting economic constraints, exacerbated by restrictive measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, have significantly reduced imports, including critical agricultural inputs and humanitarian goods, increasing the population's vulnerability to food insecurity. In Yemen, FAO said that the number of food insecure, IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or above, was projected to increase by nearly 3 million people to 16.2 million between January and June 2021. In Bangladesh, food insecurity and poverty levels have increased due to income losses caused by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it added. According to the latest figures from UNHCR (September 2021), about 903,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were sheltering in Bangladesh, mainly in Cox's Bazar District. FAO noted that Pakistan hosts close to 1.4 million registered and approximately 0.6 million unregistered Afghan refugees. Most of these people are in need of humanitarian assistance and are straining the already limited resources of the host communities, it said. "Following the Taliban's take-over of Afghanistan, this number reportedly increased, adding additional pressure on the already difficult food insecurity conditions of the host community." FAO said poverty levels have increased due to losses of income-generating opportunities owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. "Prices of wheat flour, the country's main staple, were at record or near-record levels in most markets in October 2021, constraining access," it added. Meanwhile, in Latin America and the Caribbean region, the total number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela is estimated at 5.9 million, with the largest populations located in Colombia (1.74 million), Peru (1.29 million), Ecuador (483,000) and Chile (448,000). "Food insecurity situations of migrants reportedly worsened due to losses of income-generating opportunities in the host countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic," said FAO. The expected slow recovery of the host countries' economies is likely to only marginally restore the livelihoods of migrants, it added. About 4.3 million people in Haiti were estimated to be facing severe acute food insecurity and are in need of urgent food assistance until at least February 2022. The high levels of food insecurity are the result of reduced cereal outputs between 2018 and 2021 and elevated food prices, exacerbated by income losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-political turmoil, said FAO. FAO said two natural disasters (a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a tropical storm) that struck in August, destroyed productive assets and infrastructure, and caused losses of stored food, further aggravating conditions. "In these areas, the number of people in acute food insecurity is estimated at 980,000 between September 2021 and February 2022, up from 932,000," it added. CROP PRODUCTION TO FALL IN LIFDCs According to the FAO report, the bulk of the 2021 cereal crops in Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) has been harvested and planting of the 2022 crops is already underway in several countries. FAO said the 2021 aggregate production of LIFDCs is pegged at 192 million tonnes, about 8 million tonnes more than the average, but nearly 5 million tonnes lower year on year, reflecting output contractions in Near East Asian countries. Among Asian LIFDCs, the 2021 aggregate cereal production is forecast at a below-average level of 71.8 million tonnes, 7 percent down from the previous year's out-turn. Most of this decline is related to substantial production decreases in Afghanistan and the Syrian Arab Republic, owing to prolonged and significant rainfall deficits that reduced harvests, said the FAO report. "The challenging socio-economic situation in both countries also continued to undermine agricultural productive capacities." These low outputs, plus reduced harvests in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, offset the notable production increase in Bangladesh, where maize production reached a record high in 2021. In Africa, FAO said that aggregate cereal production among LIFDCs is estimated at 119.2 million tonnes in 2021, 8 percent above the average and marginally higher than the previous year's output. The largest production increases in 2021 were estimated in Southern Africa, where cereal harvests in Malawi and Zimbabwe grew steeply to well above-average levels on high yields reflecting excellent weather conditions. "In East Africa, with the main harvest underway, prospects are mixed. Erratic rainfall is expected to result in a reduced output in Kenya, while the conflict in northern parts of Ethiopia has resulted in substantial crop losses." Significant rainfall deficits in Somalia have sharply curtailed harvest expectations and a well below-average output is forecast in 2021. In West Africa, aggregate cereal production is forecast at a near-average level in 2021 and down on a yearly basis, on account of a poor distribution of rains and persisting conflicts that are likely to have reduced crop yields. FAO said that in Central Africa, conflicts continued to impede agricultural activities and, consequently, cereal production is virtually unchanged on a yearly basis and at a near-average level. The aggregate import requirement for LIFDCs is estimated to have grown slightly in the 2021/22 marketing year to 64.5 million tonnes, about 12 percent above the average of the previous five years, said FAO. "Most of this rise is related to increased import needs in Asian countries, specifically Afghanistan and the Syrian Arab Republic." FAO said that reduced or near-average outputs in several West African countries also resulted in small increases in import requirements. In Southern African countries, the bumper harvests in 2021 have cut import needs, most significantly in Zimbabwe, where imports are forecast at a well below-average level, it added.
|
||
