Hunger set to deepen by December - report

About 78 percent of Malawi's rural poor may not have food by December, according to the preliminary results of a World Vision survey.

A humanitarian source told IRIN on Monday that the survey also indicated a 33 percent chronic malnutrition rate - determined by a formula using a child's height and age. "This can be described as pretty bad," the source said. To compound matters, he added, 78 percent of rural households visited during the survey "won't have food by December".

Malawi's rural and urban poor have been bearing the brunt of the country's food shortages as maize prices soar and the staple food becomes more scarce. News reports emerging in recent weeks have painted pictures of starving people scouring through bins for food in the cities and eating animal feed and husks in the countryside. Even though the government has ordered 150,000 mt of maize from South Africa, the maize will not necessarily help feed the poor. It is headed for the commercial market.

World Vision relief manager for Malawi, Elton Ntwana, told IRIN on Monday that he did not want to pre-empt the survey. However, he said it seemed as though the southern part of the country - most affected by floods earlier this year - were more severely affected by food shortages. He said that as soon as the final report was ready, the results would be discussed with representatives of the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) and the government, with a view to drafting a national plan.

Malawi's principal secretary for agriculture Ellard Malindi said November, December, January and February were traditionally the worst months for food security, but that the situation usually eased up in March after the harvesting season. However, he also said the government was considering "free food distributions in some selected places where the food situation is really bad".

Already the government, with donors and national implementing partners, has begun to distribute free seeds and tools to about one million farmers and rural poor families. The project was launched by Agriculture Minister Aleke Banda in Thyolo, about 30 km south of Blantyre, on 5 October. Each distribution pack includes fertiliser, maize, grain and legume seeds. According to an AFP news report, Banda said at the launch that with fertiliser and good seeds, small farmers could produce about 500 kg of maize from one hectare - compared to 50 kg or 100 kg without it. The project would target only "the poorest of the poor", he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, in its latest monthly food security update published on 8 October, USAID's Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) said household maize stocks were inadequate. It added that the availability of other food such as cassava, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes and rice was helping to alleviate the shortage. "However," the report said, "Malawians have a strong consumption preference for maize and the majority regards other foods as simple snacks. There is therefore usually an outcry when maize is in short supply despite the availability of these other crops, as is the case this year. There is a need for the government to promote the consumption of other foods as a way to address this problem."

FEWS NET said maize was available in most markets for those who had the money to buy. Maize and maize flour prices have almost trebled in some areas, preventing the poor from feeding themselves. It said that the government intended distributing about 60,000 mt of free maize to selected households around the country and was still in the process of working out distribution details. This could not be confirmed by Malawi government officials on Monday.

WFP Resident Representative in Malawi, Adamo Diop-Faye, told IRIN that a joint crop and food supply assessment would be conducted by the FAO and WFP in about two weeks' time. The last assessment in April found that 648,475 people (or 129,695 households) were affected by floods. WFP assisted about 208,000 people - the most severely affected, Diop-Faye said.

She added that because of the urgency of the situation, WFP was planning a quick nutrition and food consumption assessment at health centres across the country. "This assessment will determine the immediate action to be taken while waiting for the FAO/WFP updated joint assessment," she told IRIN. Until then, WFP was monitoring the situation and would "respond to any urgent need that might be required".

Meanwhile, Diop-Faye said, the third and final round of food distributions for those affected by the floods earlier in the year would take place this month, when about 1.4 mt of food is expected to be delivered to flood victims