Overall food security conditions "satisfactory"

Food security conditions throughout the country are "satisfactory", despite localised concerns in seven northern districts and "unwarranted concerns among consumers and government authorities about possible maize shortages in local markets that could cause food insecurity", says a recent update from the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-Net). These concerns had been triggered by increased maize exports to neighbouring countries to the south, which have seen prices rise significantly in Tanzania's southern highlands and central markets, according to the US- and World Food Programme (WFP)-supported FEWS Net. Those exports were fed by strong demand from Zambia and Malawi, in addition to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of adverse weather and/or insecurity, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been hard hit by drought-related food shortages in a crisis which, it is feared, will have long-term consequences for food security in southern Africa. Analysis of the maize markets in Mbeya market, Tanzania, and those in Lilongwe, Malawi, in February revealed a price difference of about US $25 for a 100 kg sack of maize - equivalent to almost 24,000 Tanzania shillings. "These large price differences are likely to trigger more maize exports from Tanzania until new harvests reach markets in Malawi and Zambia," FEWS Net said. Tanzanian traders, and some from neighbouring countries, were now purchasing almost all available surplus maize from the southern highlands and central Tanzania for export, it said. The higher prices resulting from increased export demand was benefiting Tanzanian producers and traders, but had led to excessive concern from some government officials and members of the public about potential maize shortages, FEWS Net reported. However, the high prices were not likely to cause food insecurity for the majority of the population, because households in the southern highlands had diverse sources of food - not maize alone - and the government had good crop-production prospects for the current season, it added. National food security was further strengthened by the completion of harvests from the "Vuli" season (from October to February) around the Lake Victoria basin; increased market supplies from the release of on-farm stocks due to good prospects for the 2001-02 season; and large government reserves and trader-held stocks, according to FEWS Net. Should food prices rise beyond affordable levels for the poorest households, the Tanzanian government could consider releasing some maize from its strategic grain reserve - which held about 60,000 mt of maize - in order to stabilise prices, it said. Meanwhile, WFP and collaborating partners continued to distribute some 3,800 mt of maize meal to vulnerable populations in seven districts of Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Iringa regions in northern Tanzania through to the end of March. Some 12 districts in northern and central Tanzania, mainly in the regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Morogoro, Shinyanga and Singida, frequently face varying degrees of food insecurity. Longer term above-normal rains over the northern half of Tanzania (if weather forecasts proved true) "could increase crop production and renew hopes of recovery from food insecurity" after a series of poor seasons in the centre and north of the country, FEWS Net reported. On the other hand, enhanced chances of lower than normal rainfall in the south - coupled with the danger of an El-Nino type phenomenon late in the 2002-02 season - could reduce surpluses in the southern highlands and destabilise food security in southern coastal regions, it added. The FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System in December listed Tanzania among 15 sub-Saharan Africa countries facing "exceptional food emergencies" as a result of consistent cereal deficits in the centre and northwest of Tanzania, and significant distribution difficulties.