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Angola + 10 more

Southern Africa Food Security Outlook - March 2023

Attachments

Key Messages

  • In February, many poor households remain dependent on market purchases for staple foods as the lean season peaks ahead of the upcoming harvest. Area-level Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are present in the deficit-producing areas of Zimbabwe, southern Malawi, Angola, Lesotho, and conflictaffected areas of eastern DRC and Mozambique. The region's primary drivers for acute food insecurity are high food prices, low food stocks, and conflict.
    Households remain largely dependent on selfemployment activities like firewood and charcoal sales, petty trading, and non-agricultural labor for income as agricultural activities decline seasonally.
    However, the start of the harvest in March and April is expected to improve household food access.

  • Across southern Africa, the maize crop is close to maturity; however, a dry spell in late February in parts of southern Angola, Namibia,
    Southern Zambia, Zimbabwe, and northern South Africa could affect crop conditions in March. In February, vegetation conditions measured by the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were below normal in western parts of the region due to cumulatively low rainfall throughout the season.
    The most affected areas were southern Angola, northern Namibia, Botswana, and southern Zimbabwe. However, many parts of the region have recorded well distributed and sufficient rainfall supporting crop development. Crops are in good condition in many parts of Malawi,
    South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and northern Zimbabwe, although national harvests are likely to be mixed. Overall, the region is expecting an above-average harvest but below the record 2021 harvest.

  • In late February, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar with average winds of 130 kilometers per hour.