Local stocks help meet food aid needs

Parts of Southern Africa which have escaped the flooding and droughts behind the region's current food shortages, have become a vital source of stocks for the World Food Programme (WFP). With about 13 million people in six countries facing hunger, WFP has had to move quickly to procure relief food to meet the needs of beneficiaries. In order to do so, WFP has needed to look for the nearest and cheapest sources of food supplies. "South Africa has at least one million mt of free maize available for sale, taking into account domestic consumption, and it is by far the best source [of relief food]," Brenda Barton, WFP regional spokeswoman told IRIN. "We have also been buying smaller quantities in northern Mozambique, mainly for projects in Mozambique itself. We have also been buying some quantities of Tanzanian maize for Malawi, and the WFP office in Tanzania has also been buying for local projects there. So these are the three [countries] in the immediate neighbourhood of the Emop [emergency operation]," she said. Further afield, Kenya had surplus stocks, "but not as much as initially thought", Barton said. The WFP office in Kenya recently bought 20,000 mt for projects in that country, "but we have not bought from there [for the regional EMOP], as they are not competitive. Uganda as well has been a source for local projects and for the Great Lakes region, but not for [the Southern Africa] regional emergency operation," she added. WFP had also bought white maize from the United States, which was stored in the Mozambican port city of Beira, "and some Brazilian maize. So we are not just focusing on one source, we see what is the cheapest, quickest way of delivering maize [to beneficiaries]", Barton said. Since 1 January, WFP has bought around 160,000 mt of food in Southern Africa, of which 110,000 mt came from South Africa. "And that's all sorts of commodities, maize [grain], maize meal, beans, salt, sugar, vegetable oil and corn soya blends as well," Barton said. However, she stressed that not all of this was specifically for the regional Emop. "When we get cash money [donations], South Africa is for sure the best source. The first option is always a local or regional purchase if the food is available at economical prices, otherwise we look for supplies overseas," she said. The speed with which food could be delivered to those in need was critical to decision making. "For example, as far as the available stocks of maize in northern Mozambique, in the Nampula area, it is much more economical to use it in that region, rather than bring it down to Maputo [for distribution to food insecure southern regions]. The natural source for covering a deficit in Maputo is South Africa," Barton added. The EC recently sourced maize from northern Mozambique to meet needs across the border in Malawi.