Niger faces a serious food crisis aggravated by rising prices, notably for millet, a staple food in the West African country, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on Monday.
About 2,5-million people are at risk, including 800 000 children, the United Nations agency said, appealing for urgent aid.
”Targeted food supply and the delivery of agricultural inputs such as seeds and fodder are urgently required to enable affected vulnerable households to cope with the crisis until harvesting starts in October,” the FAO said in a statement.
”In late 2004, a combination of drought and desert locusts struck the northern parts of the Sahel, and the impact on many communities in these marginal areas has been very severe,” said Henri Josserand, head of the FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System.
Economic factors in Niger have made it more vulnerable than other countries of the Sahel, Josserand added, noting that people in 11 of 63 districts surveyed were in a ”extremely critical” state, especially nomads with little access to basic foodstuffs.
The FAO launched an appeal in May for $4-million for emergency agricultural measures for Niger.
So far, it has received $650 000 from Sweden ”to provide cereal and pulse seeds for the rainy season, and animal fodder and vegetable seeds for the dry season starting in October”, the statement said.
”The immediate delivery of additional seeds in affected areas is essential to ensure sufficient harvesting in October,” it said. — Sapa-AFP