New safety net programme to benefit 5 million people who
face chronic hunger
Ethiopia is enjoying
a bumper harvest from the 2004 main season now projected
to be more than 24 percent above the previous year's
revised estimate of 11.49 million tonnes and 21 percent
above the average for the past five years, according to
a joint UN report issued today.
But the report noted
that despite this strong performance, 2.2 million
Ethiopians will need emergency assistance in 2005, and
in addition, five million people suffering from chronic
hunger will receive cash and food transfers under a new
safety net programme to start soon.
The joint crop and
food supply assessment report released by the
UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme
(WFP) forecasts that cereal and pulse production in
Ethiopia will be 14.27 million tonnes. The bumper
harvest follows an extended main season rainfall,
increased use of fertilizer and improved seeds,
especially wheat and maize.
With the harvest
coming onto the market, the report says that "timely
marketing and transport of food products will be
critical issues in 2005".
"Local purchase of
cereals for food assistance programmes is recommended as
far as possible, so as to assist domestic markets and
farmers," said Henri Josserand, Chief of FAO's Global
Information and Early Warning System.
The report voices
concern about pastoral areas in eastern and southern
Ethiopia where prolonged drought has led to acute water
and fodder shortages. "Erratic and poorly distributed
rains have also affected some central and northern parts
of the country," which also reduced crop yields, it
says. These areas, which already have large numbers of
vulnerable people, are expected to face increased food
insecurity.
The report estimated
emergency food requirements for 2005 at 387 500 tonnes.
In addition, 89 000 tonnes of fortified blended food and
vegetable oil is required for targeted supplementary
food distributions for a survival programme for children
under five and pregnant and lactating women. This
compares with relief food requirements in 2004 of 965
000 tonnes. A total of seven million people needed food
assistance in Ethiopia in 2004.
The 2005 humanitarian
appeal for Ethiopia requested support for 2.2 million
acutely food-insecure people who will need emergency
food assistance, while five million chronically
food-insecure people will receive cash and food
transfers under a Productive Safety Net Programme
(PSNP), which tackles longer-term food security needs.
The introduction of this new programme constitutes a
move away from the "traditional" way of managing chronic
and predictable food needs.
"For the first time
in the history of food aid assistance in Ethiopia, there
is a different response to the needs of acutely
undernourished people as opposed to the chronically
hungry," said Georgia Shaver, WFP's Country Director in
Ethiopia. "Emergency food needs are now defined as the
requirements of those people affected by acute or
unpredictable disasters, which are mainly
drought-induced. Ideally, the PSNP will help families to
create and maintain assets and decrease households'
vulnerability to shocks and crises in the future,"
Shaver added.
WFP will distribute
food to affected communities in exchange for their
undertaking development activities, such as land
rehabilitation and water and soil conservation
initiatives.
Agriculture is the
main economic activity in Ethiopia, contributing to 45
percent of GDP with some 80 percent of the population
earning a living directly or indirectly from
agricultural activities. The near total dependence of
the agriculture sector on rainfall makes it susceptible
to the vagaries of nature and results in high
variability of yearly agricultural production. This in
turn increases the uncertainty and insecurity of food
production, the joint UN report says.