Seven Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries are in need of external food assistance (including importing food) according to the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
According to the FAO, this is due to reduced agricultural output and even some livestock losses following the worst drought in years in 2016. This also resulted in tighter supplies and higher food prices in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In Madagascar – which suffered severe drought conditions– it is estimated that about 850 000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance, while in Mozambique and Zimbabwe it’s estimated to be 2 million and 4.7 million people respectively.
Crop prospects for 2017 are more favourable according to the report. However the recent outbreak of Fall army worm infestations – which the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) has labelled a “quarantine pest” because they cannot be contained easily – as well as localised flooding may limit larger production gains in some areas, stressing food security conditions further.
