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afrol News, 23 October - Tanzania's food security outlook for the coming three months "is good," reports say, in contrary to the situation in the neighbouring regions of the Great Lakes, the Horn and Southern Africa. This was evidences by ample grain stocks held on farm, by traders, and by the country's grain reserve. According to the latest release by the US agency Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net), also the food security conditions this month were "satisfactory in most parts of Tanzania." However, "normal food shortages were reported in the Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions of northern Tanzania." The food security conditions for crop farmers and agro-pastoralists had been satisfactory in most parts of Tanzania in September. "Following the recent harvest, households still have sufficient quantities of grain in storage facilities and some amounts of root and tuber crops and banana, as well, on farms," the report says. Food security for market dependents was also "satisfactory". Compared to August prices, September wholesale prices for maize had been stable in Dar es Salaam and Rukwa, but increased at different magnitudes on most of the other monitored markets. Meanwhile, rice prices had dropped on most markets, suggesting that better-off consumers may have increased consumption of rice relative to maize, FEWS reports. The "vegetation and pastoral food security" was however mixed. Vegetation, measured by the so-called "Normalised Difference Vegetation Index" (NDVI), was light to semi-arid in most parts of the country and below normal in most of Mara and parts of other regions in the Lake Victoria basin. "Pasture and browse for livestock as well as consumption of livestock products by pastoralists were reduced, but no unusual migrations and loss of animals were reported," the US agency concluded. For pastoralists, especially in Arusha and Manyara regions (northern Tanzania), food security was however "likely to have declined during September" because, in such situations, pastoralist households have less livestock products to consume and sell to earn cash income for purchasing other foodstuffs. Despite the government's reiteration of their advice to pastoralists to reduce sizes of their livestock herds, which would "reduce pressure on pasture and production costs and improve incomes," pastoralists had however remained reluctant to sell their livestock, FEWS reports. The minor food security problems in Tanzania are sharply contrasted by all neighbouring regions. To the south, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique are heavily affected by the drought and hunger in Southern Africa. Only in Zambia, almost 3 million persons currently depend on food aid. To the north, the African Horn is slowly slipping into a major food crisis, especially in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Also the northern neighbour Uganda faces food security problems due to the civil war in the northern part of the country. Within Tanzania's own region, the Great Lakes, western neighbours are also affected by food shortages, mostly due to warfare. While peaceful Rwanda still has a positive food security situation, civilians in war-ravaged Burundi and Congo Kinshasa increasingly find it difficult to support their livelihood as many are prevented from farming or have their farms looted. Sources: Based on FEWS and afrol archives
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