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Poor Rains in Africa's Sahel Mean Below Average Harvest
Poor farmers in Niger, Chad and northeastern Mali will likely need food aid until the early
harvests of August.
Scott Stearns | Dakar 27 November 2009
The United Nations says poor rains in Africa's Sahelian region mean harvests for staple food
crops will likely be one-third lower than normal.
Poor rains from the end of September to the end of October are bringing below average harvests
in Niger, northern Nigeria, central Chad and northeastern Mali and Burkina Faso.
Thomas Yanga is the West Africa Regional Director for the United Nations World Food
Program.
"We anticipate increased prices and high-rates of malnutrition, which could combine to increased
food assistance needs in the 2010 lean season for several million people in the sub-region," said
Thomas Yanga.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that aggregate cereal production in Niger
will be just over 3.5 million tons this year. That is 26 percent below last year's harvest.
Millet prices in Niger's capital, Niamey, are 42 percent higher than 2007. Severe pest infestation
and poor rains this year have led to a 34 percent decline in cowpeas, which are the main source
of income for small-scale farmers.
"We are, therefore, getting prepared for a new crisis on the food security front in eastern Sahel,
where malnutrition rates are already above emergency thresholds," he said.
In Chad, the sorghum harvest is down 22 percent and millet is down 34 percent compared to last
year. Millet prices in the capital, Ndjamena, are 72 percent higher than 2007.
Jean-Luc Siblot heads World Food Program operations in Chad.
"There, we know that we have already a structural malnutrition problem, which is going on for
years and years and years," he said. "This structural malnutrition, under-nutrition problem will be
doubled by this problem, due to this decrease in agricultural production."
The UN estimates that the need for food assistance will be higher than normal for pastoralist
communities in the eastern Sahel between January and June of next year. Poor farmers in Niger,
Chad and northeastern Mali will likely need food aid until the early harvests of August.
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Food crisis looms around eastern Sahel in Africa
-WFP
27 Nov 2009 14:30:00 GMT
Written by: George Fominyen
13
Several million people are likely to face a serious food crisis next year in West Africa's eastern Sahel
region notably in Chad and Niger , the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said.
Late and erratic rainfall in September and October, a period critical to crop development, has meant there
will be a shortfall of food in this region that is between the Sahara desert and the forest parts of sub
saharan Africa.
Authorities in Chad have announced a 34 percent fall in cereal production compared to 2008 and Niger
has said it's production is down 24 percent.
"The impact of all of this will be higher food prices on the market which will significantly limit the access to
food for most households," Thomas Yanga, WFP's regional director for West Africa told AlertNet.
He said that he expected households to use up their food suply by March, two months earlier than
normal.
The Sahel belt which includes Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal has a combined population
of over 76 million and is prone to droughts and insect infestations that often lead to food shortages.
In 2005 a severe food crisis in Niger affected 3.6 million people, among them 800,000 children as a
consequence of drought and locust invasion.
WFP says it is working with governments to assess expected food needs and prepare adequate response
in a region where malnutrition rates are already above the 30 percent emergency threshold set by the
World Health Organisation.
"We are also recommending that governments start preparing for the next agricultural season by
improving access to agricultural inputs for small farmers hoping that the rains will be abundant and well
distributed next year," Yanga said.
Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.
DAKAR, 27 November 2009 (IRIN) - Some communities in the Sahel region could face “extreme food insecurity” after erratic
rains this year deeply cut cereal production particularly of the staple millet, food security experts say.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, FEWSNET, in a 25 November alert says 2009 millet production in Burkina Faso,
central Chad, northeastern Mali, Niger and northern Nigeria is likely to be 30 percent below average.
Total production for the region should be near average given surpluses in some areas, but how cereals flow through grain
markets will be critical. Experts say rain is just one of many factors affecting whether Sahelian families find enough to eat;
local markets play a pivotal role.
“If food flows relatively freely from surplus to deficit areas, availability in affected areas will be sufficient to meet needs,”
FEWSNET says. “Access to food markets, however, will be constrained by high prices and reduced incomes.”
If governments restrict cereal flows, poor farmers in Niger, Chad and northeastern Mali could face reduced availability, high
prices and locally extreme food insecurity, the alert says. “Every effort should be made to encourage the free movement of
cereals across borders.”