An unprecedented drought which has not been witnessed for the last decade is affecting most parts of southern Africa from southern Angola to Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia. This severe drought has led to crop failure in the region. Major food shortage is being felt in the region.
The most affected crop is maize. Zimbabwe’s 2015 forecast for maize is about 9,50,000 tonnes which is far less than the 1.8 million tonnes that the people of Zimbabwe need. The authorities in Zimbabwe plan to import 7,00,000 tonnes of maize which would cost around $168 million.
Neighboring Zambia and South Africa from which Zimbabwe has imported maize in the past also faces significantly low harvest this year. According to authorities in Zambia, the country’s yield of maize would drop by 21 percent this month but an export surplus of around 8,76,000 tonnes can be expected.
According to World Food Program (WFP) the recent estimates suggest that South Africa’s crop failure rate of maize is over 50 percent. South Africa is a country which produces more than 40 percent of the regional maize.
At least six lakh people in Malawi are in need of food as their crops were washed away by the widespread floods in January.
It might be safe to say that the situation in Southern parts of Africa is not good at all and it is likely to become harsher.
Image credit: planetark.org
