Testimony, Donald Y. Yamamoto
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
Opening Statement
Washington, DC
May 21, 2013

[Before the House Subcommittees on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights; International Organizations; Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade; Middle East and North Africa]

There's a received wisdom that tree stumps, shoots and bushes should be cleared from a field before planting crops. It seems logical, but the experience of farmers in southern Niger suggests otherwise. There, the practice of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) has been found to significantly improve soil quality and crop yields, along with additional resources and income from tree products.

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The Global Overview collates information from a range of sources and displays it in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

Dakar, 16 mai (HCR) – Abdoulaye Ndongo, âgé de 37 ans, est arrivé au Sénégal en 1989. Il avait 13 ans. Il se rappelle encore ce jour d'été, où il a été déporté de Mauritanie pour le Sénégal avec seulement les vêtements qu'il portait ce jour-là. Toutefois, Ndongo a eu la chance de traverser le fleuve Sénégal sans être séparé de ses parents, ce qui n'a pas été le cas pour beaucoup d'autres enfants réfugiés.

Food security levels are generally better than a year earlier in East Africa and the Sahel, with most areas facing either IPC phase 1 ‘minimal’ or phase 2 ‘stressed’ conditions, thanks to favorable agro-climatic conditions in 2012.

In the wake of the food crises of the early 1970s and the resulting World Food Conference of 1974, a group of innovators realized that food security depends not only on crop production but also on the policies that affect an entire food system, from farm to table. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was founded in 1975, the same year as the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, which formally created the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

98% of all displacement in 2012 was related to climate- and weather-related events, with flood disasters in India and Nigeria accounting for 41% of global displacement in 2012.

Normal start in bi-modal zone and a good progression of the season in Guinean-Sudanian zone

KEY MESSAGES

• February to April rainfall estimates (RFE) indicate that the onset of rains occurred earlier than normal this season with generally above normal rainfall levels in the bi-modal zone, as well as the southern part of the Guinean-Sudanian zone. According to medium term forecasts, an on time or early onset of the rains is expected for the northern part of the Guinean-Sudanian zone.