Impending food crisis in the south

A famine early warning agency has warned that southern Mozambique faces yet another poor harvest this year, which was likely to lead to a "dramatic increase" in food insecurity. In a report based on field assessments and analysis of satellite imagery, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said that insufficient and erratic rains over the last three months has resulted in extremely poor harvest prospects throughout southern Mozambique, and in parts of the central region. "First season maize production, which accounts for the majority of the annual production of this staple crop, will be largely lost in the affected areas. Beans and groundnuts are severely affected as well. Even drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum and millet, as well as recently planted cassava, are showing signs of stress," the US-funded early warning unit said. For a few parts of the central region, additional rainfall in February could lead to a slight improvement in crop prospects. In most of the southern region, the season is largely over and rainfall now will do little to improve the crop outlook. The poor outlook for first season crops is likely to cause a dramatic increase in food insecurity in the affected zones, said the report, which was released on Friday. FEWS NET noted the situation was especially worrying as this was the second consecutive year of drought in the affected areas, while the food aid response to the 2001/02 drought has been significantly lower than assessed needs. At the national level, planned food distributions by the World Food Programme (WFP) for January will only meet 43 percent of the latest estimated needs of 654,865 people, a figure which "is certain to increase due to the current climate conditions". Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo provinces are the most severely affected, with virtually all districts facing near crop failure, the report said. Parts of Sofala, Tete and Manica also face a severe reduction in first season production. Maize was expected to suffer losses of between 50 and 90 percent. Some crops such as groundnuts, cassava and beans are still surviving, but due to high temperatures and the intensifying drought, additional rainfall is needed within the next several weeks to save the crops. "Food security problems will be compounded by the fact that this is the second year of drought, since households have already been maximising their coping strategies for a year. Food aid distribution programmes are providing some relief and are well received but the quantities are too small to have a major impact," the report said. FEWS NET said crop prospects remain good for the productive northern region. Flooding, brought about by excessive rainfall, has caused some infrastructure and crop damage in the north, but away from the flood areas, crop growth was excellent. While northern production could improve the national food balance, "production in the north normally does little to ameliorate shortages in the south due to transport constraints". FEWS NET, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture (MADER) and the Disaster Management Institute (INGC), carried out the crop assessment from 20 to 30 January. It covered 17 districts of southern Mozambique in the provinces of Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo. Formal food production estimates will be produced by MADER in the next few months.