|
1 million people in Niger in urgent need of food aid
31.10.2011 08:02 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Around one million people are in urgent need of food following a poor harvest in drought-hit Niger.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says the figure is likely to rise as the country moves towards the April-September lean season.
The agency says the growing threat of food security is deeply worrying and early action is needed to avoid a full scale crisis.
WFP’s Denise Gordan says there are plans to scale up operations in the country urgently.
«I think it is very important to highlight that this current situation follows a very severe food crisis in 2009 and 2010. So the resiliency of people is very weak. There hasn’t been enough time for people to rebuild their household stocks or to rebuild their livestock,» admits Gordan.
WFP says recent crop assessment results confirm a national cereal deficit of around 500,000 metric tons, worse figures than for the crisis years of 2005 and 2010.
Also available:
|
| |
|
|