Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) – West Africa can meet its food needs through regional trade, most agricultural experts say, if countries keep their borders open for the free flow of staple grains, especially in times of heightened stress. According to a recent study, 10 million people across the Sahel are suffering from hunger. After three years of good harvests, in 2009 Niger was again in the food security headlines after poor rains let it down. It was last in the news in 2004, when a combination of poor rains and one of the worst locust infestations in 15 years left more than two million people in need of food aid. What aggravated the crisis - which spilled into 2005 - was the closure of borders, a decision that hampered the free flow of food. Nearly half of the population is in need of food aid. According to the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-NET), the 2009-2010 cereal production was the lowest in the last 20 years. Niger and neighboring Nigeria - the "giant" in the region, accounting for 57 percent of total grain production in West Africa" - both had bad harvests in 2004/05. Nigeria banned the export of cereals as well as imports that Nigerians depended on for cash incomes. Burkina Faso, another neighbor, banned exports in 2004, blocking another potential source of grain for Niger. Although prices fell slightly after the 2009 harvest, in most West African countries they remained higher than two years before, and have again started climbing in several countries in 2010. Humanitarian agencies have appealed for US$370 million to fund various initiatives in West Africa, of which only 3.1 percent has been covered.
In Liberia, the problem is due to its slow recovery from a 14-year civil war that destroyed agriculture and infrastructure, affecting food production and access to drinking water. A survey in 2007 found that 20 percent of children aged below five were severely stunted. In Mauritania, the problem comes from years of drought followed by unusually heavy rains in August and September 2009 that have led to food price hikes. The situation is deteriorating. Cereal production dropped by 24 percent in 2009. A nutrition survey in 2008 found 13 percent of children older than six months and up to five years old were severely stunted. In Sierra Leone, the problem is rooted in its recovery from a 10-year war. The country is in a transition period and the rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure has been slow. 21 percent of children aged less than five years are severely stunted. Chad has seen a flood of refugees from neighbouring conflict-torn Darfur and northern Central African Republic. Ongoing tension between armed opposition groups, as well as ethnic clashes in the east, have affected local markets. Malnutrition rates are as high as 20 percent. In Ivory Coast, political instability and conflict have affected livelihoods and access to agricultural land in various parts of the country, where 19 percent of children younger than five have been found to be severely stunted. In Guinea, despite of a good harvest in 2009, high inflation and rising prices are negatively are making access to food more difficult. 21 percent of children aged below five are severely stunted. In Guinea-Bissau, instability is present in parts of the country. Drug trafficking and organized crime threaten the national security. Insecurity persists and low food production capacity is affecting food availability. 25 percent of children aged under five have been found severely stunted. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 24/3/2010)
