Pockets of vulnerability amid general plenty

After five years of chronic food insecurity the Malawi ministry of agriculture forecast a bumper maize harvest last week, but aid agencies warn there are still pockets of vulnerable people. The projected crop of about 2.35 million mt of maize, just above the annual requirement of two million mt, is expected to meet the immediate needs of citizens. "This year is looking much better, but pockets in certain areas in the north - like Kasungu, Rumphi and Karonga - are likely not get a good harvest. There, dry spells came at a very critical period, and when the rains did come the damage had already been done," Matthews Nyirenda, World Food Programme communications officer in Malawi, told IRIN. According to Susan Muguro, the United Nations Systems communication officer in the country, parts of the south have not been completely spared either: "The southern area of Nsanje has suffered the brunt of floods and doesn't have good prospects of harvest." Whether communities in these areas are able to cope will depend on their "economic power to buy food from other areas in the country and further assistance [food aid] - everyone in these communities is affected and many have already started migrating to other areas", Nyirenda said. Muguro warned that economic power has been run down, with livelihoods depleted over the years "following a series of bad harvests, floods and the chronic poverty". The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, chaired by the government and assisted by NGOs and UN agencies, is currently assessing harvest prospects throughout the country to identify areas needing assistance. Their report is expected by the end of the week. Nyirenda attributed this year's improved harvest to better weather conditions and the fact that "farming inputs, such as seeds and fertiliser, had been made more affordable through subsidies", but cautioned that the quality of harvests in years to come "would depend on subsidies as well, unless other interventions such as irrigation systems are put in place".