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As vast parts of southern Africa grapple with an unprecedented mid-season dry spell, the food security situation in Mozambique continues to deteriorate. The compounded effects of El Niño, above-average temperatures, extreme weather events such as Tropical Storm Filipo, excessive floods, coupled with the lasting impact of past shocks such as Tropical Cyclone Freddy, are exacerbating the situation. The 2023-2024 El Niño has been one of the strongest on record, bringing below-average rainfall between October 2023 and February 2024 in southern and central Mozambique, and average to above average rainfall to the northern part of the country.
This disruption continues to impact agriculture and rural livelihoods.[1] Between November 2023 and February 2024, typically the rainy season in Mozambique, the southern and central regions of the country experienced persistent dryness and unusually high temperatures, and many areas received less than half of their typical rainfall. These events in turn led to deteriorating vegetation conditions and crop wilting in parts of the central provinces.[2]
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network FEWS NET, as of April 2024, 690,000 hectares of crops (15 per cent of total planted area) mainly in southern and central parts of the country have been damaged by El Niño conditions and extreme weather events, leading to below-average harvests.[3]
In addition to a struggling harvest season, in February 2024 prices for maize increased by 12 per cent, marking a price hike of 24 per cent over 2023. These unusually high prices are attributed to the below-average harvest in 2022-2023 caused by these multiple shocks during the season. Food prices are thus likely to remain high due to the prospect of yet another below-average harvest in 2024-2025, not only in Mozambique but in many areas of southern Africa. Availability of food in general is thus expected to drop throughout these areas.[4]
Looking at the larger picture, 80 percent of the population in Mozambique relies on “rain-fed” subsistence agriculture and over 20 million people reside in areas that have now been affected by drought, 2.7 million of whom were already struggling with food insecurity (IPC3+) before the impact of El Niño.[5]
As the country is in the lean season, marked by depleted food reserves, below-average harvest, high food prices and limited purchasing power, the expectation is that IPC3+ conditions will worsen, and will spread to new areas in the semi-arid south and central regions now. An estimated 1.25 million of people in IPC3 could be potentially moving into severe or emergency food insecurity (IPC4+). This situation will drive up the number of households depending on markets (rather than the usual subsistence farming) and humanitarian aid until early 2025. Thus, without immediate assistance, more households may resort to negative coping strategies, such as rationing food, reducing meal frequency or size and prioritizing children’s nutrition over adults.
The Government of Mozambique and its partners have taken action to mitigate the drought, including rehabilitating water systems, setting up irrigation systems, distributing drought-tolerant seeds and other agricultural inputs including small animals, holding nutrition trainings for communities, disseminating drought messages, and cash & voucher assistance to the most vulnerable households. However, as the situation deteriorates, the Government has also requested international support.
[1] FAO April 2024 Mozambique: Mitigating and responding to the impact of El Niño on agriculture and food security: Urgent call for assistance – Mozambique | ReliefWeb
[2]OCHA Report Impact of El Niño in Mozambique – 26 April 2024 [EN/PT] | OCHA (unocha.org)
[3] FEWS NET Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes to persist in conflict and weather-shocked areas | FEWS NET
[4] FEWS NET March 2024 https://fews.net/southern-africa/mozambique/key-message-update/march-2024
[5] Mozambique: IPC Acute Food Insecurity Situation for May 023 – September 2023 and Projection for October 2023 – March 2024.
Source link : https://reliefweb.int/report/mozambique/mozambique-drought-04-2024-drought-1-2024-05-22
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Publish date : 2024-05-23 03:00:00
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