ETHIOPIA REAPS BUMPER HARVEST, BUT MORE THAN 2 MILLION PEOPLE WILL NEED FOOD AID THIS YEAR

Ethiopia reaps bumper harvest, but more than 2 million people

will need food aid this year

New Safety Net Programme to Benefit 5 Million People Who Face Chronic Hunger

(Reissued as received.)

ROME, 28 January (FAO) -- Ethiopia is enjoying a bumper harvest from the 2004 main season, now projected to be more than 24 per cent above the previous year’s revised estimate of 11.49 million tons and 21 per cent above the average for the past five years, according to a joint United Nations 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, 5 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 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) forecasts that cereal and pulse production in Ethiopia will be 14.27 million tons.  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 the 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 tons.  In addition, 89,000 tons 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 tons.  A total of 7 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 5 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, the 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”, Ms. Shaver added.

The 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 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) with some 80 per cent 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 United Nations report says.

Contact:  John Riddle, Media Relations Officer, FAO, e-mail:  john.riddle@fao.org, tel.:  (+39) 06 570 53259; Paulette Jones, Public Information Officer, WFP, e-mail:  paulette.jones@wfp.org, tel.:  (+251) 1515188 ext. 2276.  For radio interviews, call Liliane Kambirigi, Radio Information Officer, at tel.:  (+39) 06 570 53223.  Television:  Bou Downes, TV Information Officer, tel.:  (+39) 06 570 55980/52518.  Editors:  FAO’s photo library offers hi-quality images free of charge.  Visit http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/photo/.

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