A Dhaasanac man from southern Ethiopia, inspects a cow which is dying of hunger, a few hundred meters from the official Kenya-Ethiopia border in northwestern Kenya October 13, 2013. The Turkana are traditionally nomadic pastoralists, but they have seen the pasture that they need to feed their herds suffer from recurring droughts and many have turned to fishing. However, Lake Turkana is overfished, and scarcity of food and pastureland is fuelling long-standing conflict with Ethiopian indigenous Dhaasanac, who have seen grazing grounds squeezed by large-scale government agricultural schemes in southern Ethiopia. The Dhaasanac now venture ever deeper into Kenyan territory in search of fish and grass, clashing with neighbours. Fighting between the communities has a long history, but the conflict has become ever more fatal as automatic weapons from other regional conflicts seep into the area. While the Turkana region is short of basics like grass and ground-water, it contains other resources including oil reserves and massive, newly discovered underground aquifers. Picture taken October 13, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (KENYA - Tags: AGRICULTURE CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 36 OF 38 FOR PACKAGE 'FISHING AND FIREARMS ON LAKE TURKANA' TO FIND ALL IMAGES SEARCH 'TURKANA MODOLA' - RTX160Z6
ESAT News (December 2, 2016)
Photo: Newsweek
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that new drought is imminent in the southeastern regions of Ethiopia.
“The very poor performance of the October to December rains sent shockwaves throughout southern and southeastern pastoral areas of Southern People’s Regional State (SNNPR), Oromia and Somali Regions and led to widespread scarcity of pasture and water,” FAO said in Ethiopia situation report.
It further said that “livestock body conditions have deteriorated and thousands of animals have died so far. Meanwhile, the prices for livestock have tumbled in response to the glut of animals brought to market, disfavoring terms of trade for livestock owners.”
The UN food agency said crop-dependent areas of Ethiopia are expected to experience a significant boost in food availability, especially with this year’s harvests forecast to be 20 percent higher than in 2015/16.
It however said post-harvest losses remain high across Ethiopia – crop diseases such wheat rust pose a significant threat to crop yields.
FAO advised that pest and disease surveillance, monitoring and post-harvest management must be priority in the next months to ensure the next harvest is successful.
The UN estimates 9.7 million people currently need food assistance in Ethiopia.