EU releases $12 million to boost food security after floods

Bad roads are hampering efforts to deliver much-needed food aid to thousands of local villagers affected by recent flooding in Madagascar's southern province of Fianarantsoa. "There has been heavy rain all through the month of May, which has further damaged roads ... already in a poor condition. In some parts of the province the water level has reached eight metres. We are now waiting for some of the important roads to be rehabilitated, so that we may gain access to the villages," World Food Programme (WFP) communication officer, Stefania Trassari, told IRIN. In the south an estimated 16,000 villagers in the Midongy district were awaiting food assistance. "WFP has prepositioned 50 mt of food aid in a nearby district and is prepared to start distributing as soon as the roads become accessible," Trassari said. A disaster official confirmed on Thursday that the death toll since the onset of seasonal rains in March now stood at 57, while close to 25,000 people had been left homeless. "More than 54,000 ha of rice fields have been affected in four regions," said Jacki Ranemdearason of the Centre National de Secours (CNS), the national body for disaster management. The immediate concern was for food and seeds, he said, especially in the eastern Taomasina and western Mahajanga provinces, which saw huge swathes of croplands submerged by the heavy rains. Flooding in Madagascar's southern provinces has dealt another blow to this traditionally food-insecure region. The drought-prone south has experienced severe dry conditions during the past two years, leaving thousands of rural households unable to feed themselves adequately. In a bid to alleviate perennial shortages, the European Union this week released the second tranche of US $12 million in its 2003-04 Food Security Programme. Around US $1.6 million will be channelled into rural development, while the remaining funds are to be spent on improving food security. WFP has announced plans to undertake a feasibility study on establishing a rice reserve mechanism, and putting in place long-term measures to address chronic food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition, primarily caused by frequent cyclones, droughts and other natural disasters.