Ethiopia: FAO says new drought risks in Ethiopia put recovery at risk

A village in Ethiopia weathers the drought (FAO)

ESAT News (January 17, 2017)

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said on Tuesday that new drought across swathes of southern Ethiopia may jeopardize the East African nation’s restoration of food security after the worst agricultural seasons in decades unless urgent efforts are made to shore up vulnerable households in rural areas.  

FAO said in a release while humanitarian efforts have sharply reduced the number of hungry during the worst drought in 50 years, the legacy of last year’s El Niño along with low rainfall during a critical season pose renewed risks now, especially for pastoral communities facing forage shortfalls and water scarcity in southern regions.

The food organization warns of a new drought in pastoralist communities in the southern parts of the country. “While northern and western Ethiopia bore the brunt of El Niño, a new drought is emerging in southern and southeastern pastoral areas including Oromia, Somali and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNP) after poor, delayed and erratic rains curbed pasture and water availability.”

Some 80 percent of Ethiopians depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods and an even higher share of the country’s arable land relies on seasonal rainfall.