Attachments
Highlights
• A record mid-season dry spell of over 50 days has affected vast parts of the region including, Angola, Botswana, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These areas have received the lowest rainfall for the late January to early March timeframe in at least 40 years. Extended analysis indicates that in central parts of the region, 2024 has recorded the driest February in over 100 years. In some areas, the drought translated to an effective end of the rainfall season. • South Africa has also been affected by the drought in some of its main maize-growing areas, and its latest official maize production estimates are down 19% from last year’s record crop.
• The drought has severely impacted crops with widespread permanent wilting of crops reported in many parts of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Malawi and Zambia have declared a state of national disaster due to the drought. • Given the number of countries affected, and severity of impacts, including traditionally highproducing countries, preliminary analysis suggests that the region will need to import grain from outside the region to meet its cereal requirements.
• The drought has also negatively affected vegetation and water availability for livestock, with well below average vegetation conditions observed in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Drought-related cattle deaths and poor livestock conditions have been reported.
• Water levels are very low in some areas, with Kariba Dam, shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe, at its lowest for this time of year. This threatens electricity generation in the region.
• Heavy rains in parts of Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Tanzania caused flooding, displace populations and cause damage to property and infrastructure.
• Stakeholders need to urgently coordinate and implement integrated strategies for water resource management, conduct comprehensive assessments of crop and livestock conditions, ensure immediate support to affected communities, and evaluate current and forecast regional cereal staple stock levels until the 2025 harvest.