A fifth of Lesotho’s total population, or 400 000 people, will face food shortages this year after the country’s cereal harvest was ravaged by the worst drought in 30 years, a fresh report has shown.
The report, compiled by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), showed that the crisis could be experienced as early as in the third quarter of this year, when about 140 000 people will need food assistance.
The report noted that the crisis was exacerbated by soaring cereal prices and few opportunities for casual labour in the aftermath of the failed season. Many farmers harvested little or nothing.
“The last thing Lesotho needed was another poor harvest since so many vulnerable people are already living on the edge, struggling to cope with the combined impact of successive crop failures, extreme poverty and HIV/Aids,” said Amir Abdulla, WFP’s regional director for Southern Africa.
Overall, national cereal production in 2007 is estimated at just 72 000 tons — 40% less than the already low average of the previous five years. Lesotho’s estimated annual cereal requirements are 360 000 tons.
Taking into consideration commercial imports and current food-aid supplies, the report estimated that 30 000 tons of cereals and 6 700 tonnes of other foods, or the equivalent in cash, would be required to meet the minimum needs.
While average yields decreased dramatically because of drought, there was also a 20% reduction in the area planted in cereals compared with the last five-year average.
Increasing amounts of arable land have been left uncultivated in the past two years because of unpredictable weather, a lack of cash for inputs and a shortage of farm labour due to the impact of HIV/Aids, the report said.
The report noted that the HIV/Aids pandemic, with infection rates running as high as an estimated 31%, is increasingly undermining economic resources in Lesotho, resulting in a visible lack of labour in rural areas.
However, it added that the greatest concern was the loss of purchasing power because of a dramatic rise in maize prices.
White maize prices in South Africa, the main supplier of maize in the region, have tripled in the last two years, and are currently over 50% higher than a year ago. Prices in Lesotho have also increased steeply.
“It is crucial that enough seeds, fertiliser and credit facilities be available in time for the next cropping season to give Lesotho a chance to improve production in 2008, weather conditions permitting,” said Henri Josserand, chief of FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System.
The report also recommended that crop diversification and increased reliance on drought-tolerant crops be promoted. — I-Net Bridge