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afrol News, 11 November - Despite recent food aid deliveries and the incoming main harvest, food insecurity continues to worsen in some areas of Ethiopia, according to the latest assessments. Some food insecure areas were found to have been let out in recent investigations and appeals, and no aid operations were therefore prepared. While recent food aid pledges and deliveries had enabled continued food assistance to most previously identified beneficiaries - with a positive impact on food security and nutrition - "the food crisis in Ethiopia is worsening in some of these areas and emerging in others," the US agency Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) to warned in its latest Ethiopia report. Due to inadequate availability of food aid during the first half of 2002, actual distributions had ranged from 12 to 54 percent of total monthly requirements between January and May. Following increased food aid pledges and deliveries, distribution however had picked up in June (67 percent) and had reached its maximum in August (97 percent). The food crisis was however now expanding to other areas, such as parts of Arsi Zone, Oromiya Region. All the four major regions (Tigray, Amhara, Oromiya and the southern province) were now reporting significant needs in addition to those indicated in the Ethiopian government's 1 October food aid appeal, FEWS reports. There were therefore no international preparations to meet the needs. For instance, a verification team that visited West Hararghe Zone of Oromiya Region now concluded that the number of people requiring food assistance during November and December would be close to 896,000. This represented a 68 percent increase from the 532,000 beneficiaries included as part of the government's food aid appeal. FEWS assessed there was already "a shortfall of over 100,000 metric tons" to cover needs identified in the appeal in November and December. Therefore it was "unlikely" that the Ethiopian Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) would "be able to respond to the additional needs and may have to reprioritise areas and respond only to needs in areas with extreme food insecurity." Already high prices of maize, wheat and barley continue to increase in most Ethiopian markets, reflecting the poor food access in the country. While cereal prices in most Ethiopian markets typically start declining as the new harvest comes in September and October, this trend seemed to have faltered this year, FEWS notes. In almost all major retail markets in the country, cereal prices that declined slightly or remained flat in August and September already started increasing in October. - Should cereal prices continue to increase further in the coming months there is a high risk that this could worsen the already extreme food insecurity in many areas, FEWS warns. "Such increases in cereal prices, unless compensated for by increase in livestock prices, would also adversely affect pastoralists through a deterioration of their terms of trade." Given the late start and poor distribution of rainfall throughout the season, harvest prospects were expected to be very poor in most parts of the country, indicating that the current food crisis could continue during the next season. An assessment of potential emergency food needs for 2003 was already in its making, the US agency reports. Sources: Based on FEWS and
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