Food security still a concern in Somali region - OCHA

The main rainy season in the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia appears to be ending early, which could threaten food security unless more rain falls in June, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned. "The rains in May were generally below average in nearly the entire region," OCHA said in its overview of the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia for May. As a result, prospects for food security and general environmental improvement during the upcoming dry season were not promising. Long dry spells in the critical months of April and May had done little to help matters for a population that is struggling to recover from prolonged drought. "The overall food security situation, which is below normal in most woredas [districts] of 'deyr' zones, is expected to decline as the 'hagaa' [dry] season progresses," OCHA said. "Lack or failure of seasonal crop production in the central and southern agro-pastoral areas is also contributing to increased household vulnerability in the region." Planting started late in the two agro-pastoral regions, and most of the sorghum and maize seedlings were drooping from lack of sufficient water. Conversely, floods from the Shabelle, Ganale and Dawa rivers destroyed other crops in the riverine areas. While the general physical condition of livestock is gradually improving, milk production is still low and shortages of animal products continue. Army worms in Afder, Fik and Gode zones of the agro-pastoral regions had also depleted some available pasture. All of these factors conspired to keep food-commodity prices high. Ethiopia’s Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency was continuing to dispatch relief to drought-affected areas, the overview said. According to the UN, at least 1.7 million Ethiopians in the eastern Somali Region and in the southern Borena Zone are struggling to survive with limited access to water and food.