WORLD FOOD
PROGRAMME
FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
Report on the National Food Security Situation
for the DPG Meeting of April 2011
Highlights
1. Food insecure households to be targeted with food assistance and seeds
The Government-led Food Security and Nutrition Assessment (FSNA), conducted in March this year
in 20 districts of Tanzania mainland has identified about 500,000 people who are acutely food
insecure and in need of assistance before next harvests from May 2011.
2. National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) stocks for price stabilisation
The Government intends releasing stocks from the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) for urban
market price stabilization. The reserve is currently stocked with a total of 215,000 MT in its seven
operational centers, countrywide.
3. Food prices continued to increase since January 2011
Corresponding to the normal lean season pattern, compounded by poor harvests from the 2010/11
short rains (vuli) season, the food prices of major staples notably maize have been gradually
increasing since early 2011 affecting the accessibility to adequate food by many resource-poor
households.
4. Government of Zanzibar is assessing the impact of crop failure and high food prices
The Government of Zanzibar is currently assessing the impact of the crop failure caused by poor
performance of the 2010/11 short rain season (vuli) and the increasing prices of major staples in
the Isles.
5. The Disaster Management Policy and Strategy under Review
The government is in a process to review the National Disaster Management Policy and Strategy
and plan to put in place a comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) mechanism.
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1. About 500,000 people are food insecure and in need of short-term assistance
The Government under the umbrella of the MUCHALI (Mfumo wa Uchambuzi wa Uhakika wa
Chakula na Lishe) Tanzania, conducted a food security and nutrition assessment in 20 districts in
six regions in March 2011 to establish the impact of the failure of the short rains “vuli” and other
factors on food security
Map1: Food Security and Nutrition Situation
and nutrition of the
people.
The
overall
results established that
494,078 people (7% of
most
affected
population) are acutely
food insecure with very
low resilience, whereas
865,420
people
are
moderately
food
insecure.
Access to
food for these 865,420
people is likely to remain
fairly adequate until end
of May 2011 when their
physical stocks and their
other
means
for
accessing food will be
running low.
The assessment report
recommends that the
government
consider
distributing 11,858 MT of
food assistance to the
affected population in
bimodal areas and a
total of 3,603 MT in unimodal areas as an immediate intervention for the period between April –
May 2011. Out of this amount, 1,570 MT are recommended for free distributions to 79,434
chronically food insecure population and the remaining 11,057 MT for subsidized prices for people,
who cannot afford to buy food at market prices.
2. The emergency (NFRA) stocks for price stabilization in urban areas.
The Government will release maize from its emergency stocks through the National Food Reserve
Agency (NFRA) for price stabilization in major urban centers. This decision has been taken to
address the current high prices on major staples notably maize, which has reduced access to food
by low income food insecure households.
The Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC) through the NFRA and the Food
Security Department are working out modalities to implement the price stabilization plan. One
option would be targeting the middle level millers as most urban consumers prefer maize meals.
The need to assess the capacity of the millers in terms of milling, packaging and distribution
network is a crucial element of this intervention strategy.
During the 2010/11 market year, the Government through the NFRA has been building its
emergency reserve to 215,000 MT, recording over 40% above the recommended level of 150,000
MT. The stocks are prepositioned in the NFRA’s seven (7) strategic locations of Arusha, Dar es
Salaam, Songea, Makambako, Dodoma, Sumbawanga and Shinyanga.
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3. Availability of Staple Foods and Food Prices
Food Prices have been gradually increasing since January this Year as the period coincides with
the lean season when stocks draw down, compounded by high fuel prices and general inflation
in the country. Between January and March this year, nominal wholesale prices of maize in the
selected urban markets in Tanzania remained lower than the same period in 2010 indicating
adequate availability of food supplies from the good 2009/10 main harvests compared with the
2008/09 production season. In March 2011, prices of maize, an important staple in the country,
decreased by 9-12% in Arusha, Dodoma and Shinyanga markets over those of 2010 but were
higher than their 2006-10 averages in Arusha (14%), Dar es Salaam (26%), Dodoma (16%);
and Shinyanga (20%). However, those prices are showing an upward trend since January this
year, driven by anticipated poor harvests from the concluded short rains (vuli) season.
4. The Government of Zanzibar is assessing the impact of crop failure on food security
Following the poor performance of the short rains in many parts of Zanzibar and the current high
food prices, the government of Zanzibar is currently undertaking Rapid Vulnerability Assessment
(RVA) in almost all districts. The RVA is Government led with technical support from FAO and WFP;
and financial support from WFP. The RVA is anticipated to identify the most vulnerable households
and recommend appropriate intervention measures.
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5. The National Disaster Management Policy and Strategy under review
The government is currently engaged in a process to review the outdated National Disaster
Management Policy and Strategy, in order to have a more comprehensive policy that encompasses
the current challenges to disaster risk reductions and management. This process involves a wider
spectrum of stakeholders including Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as
well, as UN agencies, NGOs, Researchers, Academia and the Private Sector including Civil Societies
involved in disaster management activities in the country.
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