This report covers the period from 2/22/2007 to 3/21/2007
Due largely to favorable weather conditions, the 2006/07 meher season’s harvest is estimated by FAO/WFP and MoARD to have been 50 percent higher than the recent five-year average. This season follows three consecutive good major seasons. The favorable weather during the meher and deyr seasons also improved the availability of forage and water in the dominantly pastoral areas of Afar and Somali regions. Most parts of Afar and Somali regions are also expected to maintain normal to good forage conditions for the coming 60 days, according to Livestock Information Network and Knowledge System (LINKS). These improvements have helped to reduce the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance in 2007.
In spite of a large apparent increase in food availability and improvement in overall food security, escalating cereal prices, intermittent conflicts, floods, poor and failed rains earlier in the year have had serious implications for Oromiya (the lowlands of West Hararghe and Borena) and Somali regions. About 8.6 million rural Ethiopians will continue to need humanitarian assistance in 2007. Furthermore, approximately US$ 129 million is required to address non-food needs, including flood rehabilitation and recovery programs. According to the information from the Food Security Bureau, as many as 7.3 million chronically food insecure people will need cash or food assistance through the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) in 2007, and emergency needs assessments show that another 1.3 million people will require emergency food assistance (with a total food cost of about US $ 116 million) during the peak hunger season (July/August). More than 85 percent of the current emergency beneficiaries are concentrated in pastoral areas of the south and southeast of Somali and Oromiya regions, while the PSNP beneficiaries are all in the eastern half of the country.
Seasonal Calendar
