Following the multiple droughts that hit the Horn of Africa over the past year, countries in the region will face rise in hunger and decline of local livelihoods in the coming months, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) reported on Monday.
The African countries are also dealing with the growing number of refugees.
According to the UN agency, nearly 12 million people across Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia face harsh food conditions, and are in need of emergency assistance.
Families in the region also experience rising debt, low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production, according to the statement.
FAO said farmers need urgent support to recover from consecutive lost harvests and to keep their breeding livestock healthy and productive at a time that pastures are the driest in years.
Accordingly, the says production outputs in the three countries are grim.
“We’re dealing with a cyclical phenomenon in the Horn of Africa,” Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO’s Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, said.
He stressed that timely support to farming families could significantly boost their ability to withstand the impacts of these droughts and soften the blow to their livelihoods.
The agency has already begun allocating funds to Kenya and Somalia to support emergency feed, repairs of water points, vaccinations for breeding and weak animals, and seeds and tools to plant in the spring season.
Burgeon said FAO was also cooperating with local officials to help countries prepare for emergencies, “especially in those areas where we know natural hazards are recurring”.
The FAO official added that working with the government to further build up the ability to mitigate future shocks is a smart intervention that could significantly reduce the need for humanitarian and food aid further down the line.
Kenya currently has nearly 1.3 million people that are food insecure, and the number could increase in early 2017 due to an expected drought, he said.
To help the livestock, FAO is providing feed, water, and veterinary support and good management skills training for local officials, according to him.
He said Somalia has also seen two poor rainy seasons this year, with a 50 per cent below average drop in Gucereal harvest this spring.
Burgeon said about five million Somalis are food insecure through December 2016, including 1.1 million people in crisis and emergency conditions of food insecurity, a 20 per cent increase in just six months.
Meanwhile, the UN agency has said that Ethiopia is still recovering from the 2015 El Niño-induced drought, with 5.6 million food insecure people, and millions more depending on livestock herds.
FAO and more than 25 non-governmental organisations and agencies reached 1.5 million households with drought-resistant seeds, the report stated.
FAO reports that Somalia and Kenya are among the first to benefit from its new Early Warning Early Action Fund.
The fund ensures quick activation of emergency plans when there is a high likelihood of a disaster that would affect agriculture and people’s food and nutrition security, according to the report. (NAN)