ETHIOPIA* (24 October)
Prospects for the 2005 main season “meher” crops are favourable in the main producing regions in western and central parts while the outlook is less favourable in the eastern and southern crop producing areas due to late and erratic rains. Furthermore, despite the general improvement in the secondary “belg” season compared to last year, some areas were adversely affected by either excessive or erratic and late rains. Normally, the belg season rains extend from February to May and the crop accounts for some 10 percent of total grain production but in some areas it provides the bulk of annual grain production.
Household food availability is poor and high malnutrition rates, particularly for children, are of serious concern in some areas. The situation is exacerbated by significantly higher than average food prices. A multi-agency mission, composed of Government, UN and other humanitarian agencies, last April revised the total number of people in need of emergency food assistance in 2005 upwards from 3.1 million to 3.8 million. A subsequent inter-agency assessment of belg-dependent and pastoral areas in July identified additional requirements for the months of August to December, although the monthly number of people in need of relief food did not exceed the peak of 3.8 million in June. The relief food requirement in 2005 increased from an initial estimate of 387 000 tonnes to of about 464 000 tonnes in April and 600 000 tonnes in July (not including supplementary food requirements). The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) started in 2005 to address the needs of more than 5 million chronically food-insecure people with cash and food transfers. Implementation of the programme was delayed in the first half of 2005 causing some problems, but exceptional measures introduced in June accelerated the process and resulted in reaching the bulk of the intended beneficiaries. The PSNP has now supported about 4.8 million chronically food-insecure people through community “public” works and free “direct” transfers. Overall, the national level of food aid in the pipeline is expected to cover the estimated requirements for the remainder of the 2005 and early 2006.
An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission is planned to visit the country in November to assess the main season production and estimate food assistance requirements in 2006.