ETHIOPIA: Erratic rainfall threatens crop yields

-----Original Message-----
From: IRIN [mailto:no-reply@IRINnews.org]
Sent: 26 June 2009 11:02
To: Ahmed Arwo
Subject: ETHIOPIA: Erratic rainfall threatens crop yields

ETHIOPIA: Erratic rainfall threatens crop yields

ADDIS ABABA, 26 June 2009 (IRIN) - The late start of Ethiopia's wet season
and the unreliability of the rains could affect crop production this year
and increase the number of those in need of aid, officials said.

"The rainy season will start late particularly in the northeastern part of
our country," Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told reporters at his office on 24
June. "That means the cropping season for some types of crops may not be
appropriate this year."

Ethiopia produces 90-95 percent of its total cereal output during the main
rainy season, called 'meher', which runs from June to October.

According to the US Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net), the
`meher' crop season is likely to experience below normal rains. The `belg'
(early rains, February-June) season, which normally accounts for 5-10
percent of total cereal output, has also been unpredictable.

"Forecasts for rainfall during the main cropping season and in northern
pastoral areas are below normal, particularly in areas of the east where
production was poor this year, raising concerns that a serious food crisis
could emerge in Ethiopia over the next year," Fews Net said in a 24 June
statement.
[http://www.fews.net/docs/Publications/ethiopia_fsu_06_2009_final.pdf].

The late start of the early rains meant that only 50-70 percent of land
planned for planting was sown by mid-April, according to the World Food
Programme (WFP).

Fews Net said the lowland pastoral and marginal production areas in the
eastern regions had also received "below normal" rains.

Food crisis denied

Meles denied the country was facing a food crisis. "We have hundreds of
thousands of tons of wheat in our store houses here in Ethiopia."

However, according to aid workers, Ethiopia has almost five million people
requiring emergency food assistance.

A total of 7.5 million chronically food insecure people also receive
assistance through a social welfare scheme called the Productive Safety Nets
Programme.

To meet immediate needs, the Stakeholder Food Prioritization Committee has
asked the government to release 11,000 tons of cereals.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), the government's Disaster Risk Management Food Security Sector and
WFP also have 30,000 tons of food in the pipeline.

"However, this quantity covers only one third of the monthly requirement,"
OCHA said, adding that the food in the pipeline was likely to be available
only in late July or August due to congestion at Djibouti port.

"We have given priority to the transportation of fertilizers because we
need fertilizers now," Meles said. "But we have spare strategic reserve food
in our stores. So it does not make sense to prioritize transport of food
from the port at the expense of fertilizers. If [WFP] is facing any problem
in terms of transport... go to these [strategic reserve] warehouses and take
out loans to be replenished later when their food in the port is transported
to the country."

tw/eo/cb[END]