The Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Representative to Ethiopia, Amadou Allahoury, has
warned that if the current floods in the country continues, it could lead to
crop and livestock diseases, reports NaijaAgroNet.
"If floods worsen
later this year, there could be outbreaks of crop and livestock diseases,
further reducing agricultural productivity and complicating recovery,” Allahoury
declared.
The situation, Allahoury
said, is critical now and urged the world make sure that farmers will be able to
plant between now and September and grow enough food to feed themselves and
their families thus avoiding millions of people having to rely on food
assistance for another year.
“Ethiopia needs urgent
global support to respond to its humanitarian needs, we have no time to
procrastinate," Allahoury said.
The FAO official
described the meher season as Ethiopia's main agricultural
season and produces up to 85 per cent of the nation's food supplies.
Also, Allahoury warned
that if the farmers do not plant enough now, Ethiopia may face significant food
shortages, which may further exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity in the
country.
“To ensure the last
remaining planting window of the year is met, an estimated $8.8 million is
needed to provide root crop planting materials, legumes, vegetable and cereal
seed to 530 000 households,” the representative said.
NaijaAgroNet reports
that FAO estimated that households who lost small ruminants such as sheep may
need at least two years to return to pre-drought levels, while cattle-owning
households may need up to four years to recover. While animals that survived
the recent drought are still weak and susceptible to diseases during the
rainy periods; $36.2 million is required to undertake the necessary
interventions to support 2.4 million livestock-dependent households or 12
million people.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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