Ethiopian government and humanitarian
agencies, has said that the country urgently needs $596 million, about N118.75
billion to address food insecurity for the remainder of the year adding that
only $258 million has been received in donor contributions, NaijaAgroNet reports.
"A
lot of the funds provided earlier in the year are already spent and key sectors
such as supplemental food, livelihoods and agriculture are critically short of
funds," said the appeal by the Ethiopian government and humanitarian
organisations operating in the locountry
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network
(FEWSN ), an organisation that provides timely information on food insecurity
recently said that the El Niño phenomenon contributed to suppression of the long rains limiting
agricultural and pastoral potential, NaijaAgroNet
reports.
Regions
of the world adversely affected include northern East Africa, Central America
and the Caribbean.
"These
impacts are contributing to acute food insecurity for approximately four
million people in these regions," said the US-funded organisation.
A
statement by the group added that the most affected areas in the Horn of Africa
are northern Ethiopia and eastern Sudan, which have been experiencing shortages
due to poor rainfall between June and September.
"In
northern Ethiopia and eastern Sudan, late rains with intermittent dry spells
contributed to reduced area planted, late planting, and households planting
shorter cycle crops. Forage and water availability are significantly below
average," it further said.
Cyriacus Nnaji/ED,OPs
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