Water Scarcity
Worst Drought in Decades Drives Food Price Spike in East Africa
By IPS World Desk
Farmers in the Horn of Africa need urgent support to recover from consecutive lost harvests and to keep their livestock healthy and productive . Photo : FAO / Simon Maina
ROME , Feb 15 2017 ( IPS ) - The most severe drought in decades , which has struck parts of Ethiopia and is exacerbated by a particularly strong El Niño effect , has led to successive failed harvests and widespread livestock deaths in some areas , and humanitarian needs have tripled since the beginning of 2015 , the United Nations warns .
East Africa ’ s ongoing drought has sharply curbed harvests and driven up the prices of cereals and other staple foods to unusually high levels , posing a heavy burden to households and special risks for pastoralists in the region , the United Nations food and agricultural agency on Feb . 14 warned .
“ Sharply increasing prices are severely constraining food access for large numbers of households with alarming consequences in terms of food insecurity ,” said Mario Zappacosta , a senior economist for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ).
Local prices of maize , sorghum and other cereals are near or at record levels in swathes of Ethiopia , Kenya , Somalia , South Sudan , Uganda and Tanzania , according to the latest Food Price Monitoring and Analysis Bulletin ( FPMA ). Poor livestock body conditions due to pasture and water shortages and forcible culls mean animals command lower prices , leaving pastoralists with even less income to purchase basic foodstuffs , FAO adds , while providing some examples :
Somalia ’ s maize and sorghum harvests are estimated to be 75 per cent down from their usual level . In Tanzania , maize prices in Arusha , Tanzania , have almost doubled since early 2016 .
In South Sudan , food prices are now two to four times above their levels of a year earlier , while in Kenya , maize prices are up by around 30 per cent . Beans now cost 40 per cent more in Kenya than a year earlier , while in Uganda , the prices of beans and cassava flour are both about 25 per cent higher than a year ago in the capital city , Kampala .
Pastoral Areas Face Harsher Conditions
Drought-affected pastoral areas in the region face even harsher conditions , the UN specialised agency reports . In Somalia , goat prices have fallen up to 60 per cent compared to a year ago , while in pastoralist areas of Kenya the prices of goats declined by up to 30 per cent over the last 12 months . Shortages of pasture and water caused livestock deaths and reduced body mass , prompting herders to sell animals while they can , as is also occurring in drought-wracked southern Ethiopia , FAO reports . This also pushes up the price of milk , which is , for instance , up 40 per cent on the year in Somalia ’ s Gedo region . According to the Rome-based agency , Ethiopia is responding to a droughtemergency , triggered by one of the strongest El Niño events on record .
Drought is pushing up food prices in Uganda . Photo : FAO
Humanitarian needs have tripled since the beginning of 2015 as the drought continues to have devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists — causing successive crop failures and widespread livestock deaths , it reports . Food insecurity and malnutrition rates are alarming with some 10.2 million people in need of food assistance . FAO also reports that one-quarter of all districts in Ethiopia are officially classified as facing a food security and nutrition crisis — 435 000 children are suffering severe acute malnutrition and 1.7 million children , pregnant and lactating women are experiencing moderate
30 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2017