Assela May 20/2013 Over 716,000 quintals of fertilizers and select seeds are being distributed among more than 337,000 farmers in 24 rural woredas of Arssi Zone in Oromia State, the zonal agriculture and rural development office said. Office deputy head, Ahmed Se'id said on Monday that over 590,000 quintals of the stated amount of inputs are fertilizers. Ahmed said the agricultural inputs are being distributed through farmers' cooperatives unions. So far over 350,000 quintals of fertilizer and select seeds are distributed among the farmers.

UNAIDS reports that more than 7 million people are now on HIV treatment across Africa, while new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS continue to fall.

SUMMARY

In most of the years analysed, farmers received prices that were lower than what they would have obtained with better market access or more favourable domestic policies (Figure 1).

However, farm gate prices started increasing in 2005 and price incentives (relative to international prices) improved following the global food price spikes of 2008. Farmers thus increased production based on their perception of improving prices.

DRC, Sudan and Somalia continue to host the highest number of IDPs and persons severely affected by conflict. A new report provides in-depth analysis of the situation in 12 countries.

Continued good performance of the seasonal rainfall further improved water and pasture availability in most droughtprone areas around the country. All types of water sources were fully replenished in Somali Region and in all woredas of Oromia Region, with the exception of Shalla and Siraro in West Arsi zone.

A new infographic shows the affected areas in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania and highlights the need for improved cross-border disaster risk reduction and flood mitigation measures.

Addis Ababa May 18/2013 A company called DuPont Pioneer said it has allocated four million USD to boost maize productivity in Ethiopia for the next three years. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a seed processing plant and a warehouse constructed with over two million USD in Menagasha Town, Oromia State on Friday, DuPont Pioneer Vice President Dan Jacobi said that DuPont is contributing share in the ongoing efforts to boost maize productivity through building the plant and warehouse.

Eritrea is considered one of the most repressive countries in the world; Freedom House, in its annual ranking of countries based on democratic freedom, considers Eritrea “one of the worst of the worst”. Since gaining independence from Ethiopia twenty years ago, the destitute and politically isolated country is often accused by international human rights groups of unlawful executions, tor-ture, and citizen detention.