Saturday, February 27, 2021
  • Home
  • News
  • Agribusiness
  • Markets
  • Machinery
  • Technology
  • Livestock
  • Poultry
  • Fisheries
  • Fruits
  • Climate Change
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Zambia: 2.3 million people face severe food insecurity

Mthokozisi by Mthokozisi
October 29, 2019
in Featured, Food, Food Security
0
Zambia: 2.3 million people face severe food insecurity

 

A “catastrophic” combination of drought and communities’ declining resilience has left an estimated 2.3 million people facing severe acute food insecurity – up from an estimate of 1.7 million people a month ago.

Communities across Southern Africa have been affected by drought since late 2018.

This year, large parts of southern and western Zambia received their lowest seasonal rainfall totals since at least 1981, the base year from which normal rainfall is benchmarked. At the same time, the northern and eastern parts of the country were affected by flash floods and waterlogging, resulting in poor harvests.

Mr Kaitano Chungu, the Secretary-General of the Zambia Red Cross, said:

“Before the communities could recover from the impacts of flood episodes that characterised the 2017/2018 season, the 2018/2019 season has been hit by drought. The successive mixture of drought and flooding has been catastrophic for many communities. In most of the affected areas, there isn’t enough drinking water, which means that people and animals—both livestock and wildlife—are having to use the same water points. This is unacceptable as it exposes people to diseases and creates a heightened risk of animal attacks.”

Some families in the worst-affected areas are surviving the food shortage by eating wild fruits and roots, a coping mechanism that exposes them to poisonous species which may be life-threatening or pose serious health risks.

“Our priority is to quickly provide emergency cash to vulnerable families”

Some of the Zambia Red Cross branches are among the aid groups that have been distributing food relief to hunger-affected communities on behalf of the government for a few months now, but more help is needed.

The Zambia Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are today appealing for almost 3.5 million Swiss francs. This appeal will fund efforts to provide sustained emergency and recovery-focused assistance to about 57,000 people who are among the worst-affected by the current crisis.

Through the Red Cross operation, targeted families will receive unconditional cash grants, as well as assistance designed to improve future food production.

Dr Michael Charles, the head of IFRC’s Southern Africa cluster office, said:

“Our priority is to quickly provide emergency cash to vulnerable families. However, we want to go beyond simply stabilizing the situation: we want to offer sustained support so that people are better able to face and navigate future climate threats without needing external assistance. Ultimately our goal is about helping people become more resilient.”

According to experts at the Global Change Institute (GCI) at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, temperatures in southern Africa have risen on average by twice as much as global temperatures.

In addition, GCI estimates that, based on current emissions, temperatures in the regional interior could climb 5°-6°C by the end of the century – well above the anticipated global temperature rise.

Warming of that magnitude would be potentially catastrophic. Life-threatening heatwaves would become more frequent. The production of staple crops such as maize and wheat would be severely impaired. Water resources, already at their limit throughout southern Africa, would be dramatically reduced in quality and quantity. Livestock would not be viable over much of the sub-continent.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Previous Post

Local farmers set to benefit from Afreximbank cotton initiative

Next Post

Massey Ferguson lends support to South Africa’s emerging farmers

Mthokozisi

Mthokozisi

Related Posts

PERRY OPENS NEW OFFICE & TRAINING FACILITY IN UGANDA
Featured

PERRY OPENS NEW OFFICE & TRAINING FACILITY IN UGANDA

by Mthokozisi
February 9, 2021
0

  Perry of Oakley Ltd., a British company with a 73 year heritage in the design, manufacture and installation of...

Read more
VIRTO GROUP once again chooses TOMRA and renews the equipment at its main plant with eleven Nimbus BSI+ sorters

VIRTO GROUP once again chooses TOMRA and renews the equipment at its main plant with eleven Nimbus BSI+ sorters

January 13, 2021
SKF South Africa secures local agri customer’s aftermarket business for combine header gathering chain

SKF South Africa secures local agri customer’s aftermarket business for combine header gathering chain

January 13, 2021
Massey Ferguson MF 8S.265 Dyna E-Power Exclusive wins Tractor of the Year 2021

Massey Ferguson MF 8S.265 Dyna E-Power Exclusive wins Tractor of the Year 2021

January 6, 2021
VALTRA G SERIES WINS TRACTOR OF THE YEAR 2021 BEST UTILITY AWARD

VALTRA G SERIES WINS TRACTOR OF THE YEAR 2021 BEST UTILITY AWARD

January 6, 2021
How to deal with ticks on your farm

How to deal with ticks on your farm

January 6, 2021
Next Post
Massey Ferguson lends support to South Africa’s emerging farmers

Massey Ferguson lends support to South Africa’s emerging farmers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download Our latest Issue

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by @@Agribiz_SADC

RSS MORE NEWS

  • FAO organized a workshop in Ouagadougou “AgrInvest - Enabling inclusive and efficient private sector investments in the Burkinabè agri-food systems”
    Download logoThe AgrInvest initiative of FAO aims at attracting private investments into agri-food systems aligned with the SDGs by leveraging public funds. Under AgrInvest, FAO is implementing the project “AgrInvest-Food Systems ” (AgrInvest-FS) to foster sustainable investments in agri-food systems in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Niger, which contribute to sustainable economic growth and boost rural […]
  • The African Development Bank: a strategic partner in developing resilience and sustainable energy in the Sahel region
    Download logoThe Sahel Alliance will hold its second general assembly in N'Djamena, Chad on Monday, 15 February 2021. The meeting will take place on the side-lines of a summit for the G5 Sahel countries— Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad—as well as France. The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) played an active role in the formation […]
  • R12.6 million in funding awarded to 17 of South Africa’s most promising Social Innovators
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wITZdZL0pR0&w=854&h=480]Meat Naturally and Agricool Finance were awarded joint first place in the 10th Annual Social Innovation Awards, while Leafline Washable Sanitary Wear scooped first place in the Disability Empowerment Awards. All three winners were awarded R1.3 million in grant funding. A total amount of R12.6 million in grant funding and business development support was given […]
  • Joint communiqué on the critical desert locust situation and emergency response in Somalia
    On 3 February 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Federal Government of Somalia, Federal member state (FMS) ministers from Jubaland, Hirshabelle and South West States, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held a meeting in Mogadishu to deliberate and agree on immediate actions to address the critical desert locust situation in the […]
  • African Development Bank, FAO and South Sudan’s government ink protocols for $14 million grant to boost agricultural markets
    Download logoThe African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) on Wednesday signed protocols to disburse a $14 million grant to the Government of South Sudan to boost agricultural markets in a project to be implemented by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Agricultural Markets, Value Addition and Trade Development (AMVAT) project aims to enhance agricultural productivity […]
Facebook Twitter

About Us

SADC AGRIBUSINESS MAGAZINE

Sadc Agribusiness Magazine is Southern Africa's premier farming magazine which provides news updates and analysis of topical issues affecng large scale farming to smallholder farmers, agri-preneurs, investors, community leaders, Agric ministries, who believe in the strong role of agriculture in economic development and poverty alleviation.

Recent Posts

  • TOMRA Food launches Packhouse Academy, the fresh produce industry’s most comprehensive online learning resource
  • PERRY OPENS NEW OFFICE & TRAINING FACILITY IN UGANDA
  • VIRTO GROUP once again chooses TOMRA and renews the equipment at its main plant with eleven Nimbus BSI+ sorters
  • SKF South Africa secures local agri customer’s aftermarket business for combine header gathering chain
  • SKF South Africa secures local agri customer’s aftermarket business for combine header gathering chain

Weather

JOHANNESBURG WEATHER

© 2019 All Rights Reserved SADC Agribusiness Magazine

No Result
View All Result

© 2019 All Rights Reserved SADC Agribusiness Magazine

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In