Sub-Saharan Africa’s Food Supply Improving, U.N. Reports

NAIROBI, Kenya — The food supply in sub-Saharan Africa is better than it has been in years, despite continuing shortages in some nations plagued by drought, poor harvests and civil strife, says a new report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Food aid and cereal imports are expected to decline by about 58% for the rest of this year, but most of sub-Saharan Africa’s four dozen or so nations will still be able to meet their food demands.

The positive prognosis comes as several international donors have been forced to tighten their own belts because of decreased funding.

“We have been having donor syndrome; too many droughts, too many wars and food needs,” said Harold Norton, the FAO’s representative in Kenya. “Now, for once in a long while, we can shout a little. We don’t have many emergencies. We have a better picture than we’ve had over the last five years.”

The good news, especially for southern and western Africa, stems from adequate rainfall, increased planting and improved farming techniques, leading to higher yields, the report says. Political stability has also helped.

“When you combine the good weather situation, plus changes in policy regarding input, supply and distribution, these have been the main causes for the positive development,” FAO economist Mwita Rukandema said.

The 67-page report, the third this year in a series prepared by the FAO Global Information and Early Warning System, says that large stocks from the latest harvest in several southern African countries should mean favorable food availability through March 1998.

With the rainy season now well underway in most of West Africa, crop production is normal and expected to remain satisfactory until next fall’s harvest, the report says.

However, FAO officials caution that this new stability should not be viewed as an indication that Africa no longer needs help. According to the report, 17 nations still face food emergencies, mostly because of unfavorable weather and civil strife.

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Sierra Leone tops the list of countries where the outlook is bleak. The country’s recent coup and the resulting unrest have aggravated an already poor food situation, Rukandema said. Weeding and planting of main crops, usually done from April to June, have been disrupted. And many farmers have fled to escape the political upheaval.

The political upheaval has caused international relief groups to halt some rehabilitation projects. And a trade embargo imposed by the Economic Community of West African States against Sierra Leone’s military junta has caused prices to quadruple.

“All possible efforts should be made to arrest the deteriorating food situation in Sierra Leone; otherwise famine is imminent,” the report warns.

Despite the easing of the refugee crisis in the Great Lakes region, food difficulties persist there. The report notes that in Rwanda, 1.6 million more people will need to be fed in the rest of 1997 than during the same period a year ago--an increase of 25%. Overall food production is estimated at 18% below the level of 1990.

In Burundi, food production is about 4% less than it was before that country’s political crisis. And in the eastern region of Congo, formerly Zaire, severe malnutrition has been reported among Rwandan refugees.

Recent drought in much of East Africa has caused the food supply to remain tight and prices to skyrocket. And lack of rainfall has ruined harvests in parts of Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania.