FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 09/01 - SOMALIA* (10 September)
Harvesting of the 2001 main season (“Gu”) cereal crops is nearing completion. Erratic and below-normal rains in the main growing areas in the south have affected crops. Preliminary forecasts point to a sorghum output of about onethird of the previous year’s “Gu” production and less than half of the post-war average. Most affected regions include rainfed areas of Gedo, Hiran, Bay and Bakool. However, a good maize harvest is anticipated in the irrigated areas of Juba and Shabelle river valleys. Crop harvest data are expected soon, when results from an appraisal by the Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU) in August are made available.
Overall, severe food difficulties are emerging reflecting a poor “Gu” season, slow household recovery from the earlier succession of droughts, and long-term effects of years of insecurity. Moreover, further injections of new currency into the market with the attendant depreciation of the Somali Shilling have caused a sharp increase in prices of food items, eroding the purchasing power of large sections of the population.
In northern Somalia, severe water shortages and deteriorating pasture conditions, due to poor rains, have resulted in unusual and early migration of people and livestock. Poor rains in the neighbouring region of Ethiopia have compounded the problem by increasing competition for limited pasture. The ban of livestock imports from eastern Africa by countries along the Arabian Peninsula due to Rift Valley fever continues to cause substantial loss of income and has affected the livelihoods of a large number of pastoral households.
In response to anticipated poor harvests, dwindling stocks and inadequate relief food in the pipeline, WFP and other humanitarian agencies have appealed to the international community for additional food assistance. Earlier in the year a UN inter-agency appeal was launched for US $130 million, to support livelihoods and assist the country’s recovery.