In the case of Uganda, inadequate and erratic rainfall coupled with an overflow from conflicts in neighboring countries is posing a growing threat to food security. It indicates that while Uganda is still grappling with the lingering effects of two consecutive seasons of reduced agricultural output, it has a task to feed a population of more than 1.5 million refugees coming in mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Uganda is listed among countries in dire need of food assistance following high levels of food insecurity due to regional conflicts and adverse climatic shocks that are taking a toll on East African countries.
Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Burundi, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia feature on the same list, outlined in the
Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The report has a total of 37 countries where increased hunger and food insecurity has continued to inflict suffering on the Population forcing millions to remain dependent on humanitarian assistance. Civil war and insecurity are direct reasons for high hunger rates in 16 of those countries.
It shows that conflict is displacing millions of people, hampering agricultural activities and, in many cases, also driving basic food prices up sharply. In the case of Uganda, inadequate and erratic rainfall coupled with an overflow from conflicts in neighboring countries is posing a growing threat to food security.
It indicates that while Uganda is still grappling with the lingering effects of two consecutive seasons of reduced agricultural output, it has a task to feed a population of more than 1.5 million refugees coming in mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Amid the growing population, cereal production, in the entire region, saw a 7.2 percent drop, leading to increased stress in various countries. To make matters worse, recently-concluded harvests of secondary season cereal crops are forecast to be below average in parts of Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia, the report warns.
It adds that although drought conditions in parts of Ethiopia and Somalia have eased, it is not enough to fully offset accumulated deficits in soil moisture. Pasture availability is still below average and livestock body conditions are generally poor.
In Kenya, seasonal rainfall was up to 80 percent below average levels, warranting close monitoring of rangeland conditions in eastern areas of the country. Similarly, aggregate cereal production from Somalia's "deyr" rainy season is estimated to be 20 percent below average as seasonal rains had a late start and an early cessation.
A similar pattern in rainfall and yields was observed in northeastern Tanzania. South Sudan's cereal output from the 2017 planting seasons is estimated to be the smallest since the conflict started at the end of 2013.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, inflation more than doubled in 2017 to a 42 percent annual rate as violence disrupted traditional trade routes, driving up prices, and food shortages.
Prices of staple cereals are also high in Ethiopia and the Sudan, where retail prices of sorghum, millet and wheat have doubled since last October in the majority of local markets. The price jump was triggered by the removal of government wheat subsidies, which increased demand for substitute cereals and by weakening currencies.
The other countries currently in need of external food assistance are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Syria, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
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