(excerpt)

Djibouti

New Arrivals: In March 2013, an estimated 8,568 migrants arrived on Yemen’s shores via Djibouti, a 12% increase from February. Numbers of Ethiopians crossing the Red sea in March 2013 were 40% more than those who crossed in January. A total of 21,658 migrants crossed into Yemen via the Red Sea in the first quarter of 2013, 16% less than the first quarter of 2012. 90% of the first quarter totals crossing from Djibouti were Ethiopian. The rest were Somali.

Average to above-average agricultural production across many countries in the region saw the number of food-insecure people fall from 14.9 million in late 2012 to 12.9 million.

Heavy rains characterized the onset of March to May rains in Eastern Africa

KEY MESSAGES

• The onset of March to May rains have been timely across the cropping, agropastoral, and pastoral areas of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania in the areas that receive these rains. The rains started between mid-March and the first week of April. They have been heavier-than-normal in most areas(Figure 1).

White maize is the main staple grain consumed in Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. In Uganda, white maize is grown mainly as a commercial crop for export in the region. Imported rice is a major staple for Djibouti and Somalia, which mainly consume belem—the imported red rice. Tanzania is also a major producer and source of rice in the region while Kenya and Uganda are minor producers. Both red and white sorghum are produced and consumed in the region. This is an important staple in Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia as well as in other marginal agricultural areas of the region.

The workshop on the Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Program (DRSLP) in the Horn of Africa (HoA) commenced on Friday, February 22 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshop, which runs to February 24, was jointly organized by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

A new food security alert has been issued for southeast Kenya due to poor and uneven rain distribution during the October to December rainy season. Affected households are in a “crisis” food security situation

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, 23RD JANUARY 2013