Late and erratic rains during Somalia’s 2019 cropping season from April to June coupled, with low river levels have led to the poorest cereal harvest since the 2011 famine threaten an already fragile food security situation in the country, the United Nations disclosed on Tuesday.
According to the 2019 data gathered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), cereal production was up to 70 per cent below average.
The resulting shortfall is linked to abnormally high prices of sorghum observed throughout the season.
According to the analysis, up to 2.1 million people across Somalia face severe hunger through December 2019, bringing the total number of Somalis expected to be food insecure by year’s end to 6.3 million.
Climatic shocks coupled with widespread poverty and vulnerability are key drivers that have trapped millions of Somali’s in severe hunger and malnutrition.
An estimated 2.6 million people remain internally displaced across the country, either scattered among host communities in rural areas or living in formal and informal settlements on the outskirts of urban centres.
Widespread malnutrition persists across the country and 1 million children are projected to be acutely malnourished over the next year, including 180,000 who are likely to be severely malnourished—if interventions are not scaled up, noted the analysis.
“Climatic shocks exacerbate needs. However, these shocks do not have to lead to a large-scale catastrophe. We must continue to work collectively to strengthen the capacity of Somalia to withstand these climatic shocks and identify durable solutions,” said Hamza Said Hamza, minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management.
The UN noted that the next cropping season (October-December), which is expected to be wetter than normal in most areas, will be crucial to avoid a deterioration of the food security situation in Somalia.
“The rainfall forecast indicates 45 to 55 percent probability of rains being above average in in most parts of the country. This amount of rainfall will benefit pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. However, rains will likely cause flooding along the country’s main Juba and Shabelle rivers which can seriously damage crops and affect cereal production,” noted the analysis.
JK/abj/APA