FAO in North America

‘Survival strategy’ from hell

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on July 10, 2012

As millions of people across the Sahel region of West Africa struggle with a food crisis brought on by drought, high food prices, displacement and chronic poverty, The Washington Post reports on a devastating side effect of the crisis in Niger – a potential increase in what is already the world’s highest rate of child marriage, as parents marry off their daughters for the dowries such arrangements bring.

UNICEF child protection expert Djanabou Mahonde says:

“The fear is, if the food crisis continues, that more parents will use marriage as a survival strategy and that we’ll see more girls married before the age of 15.”

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Crisis in the Sahel

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on March 12, 2012

©FAO/Jeanette Van Acker

At least 15 million people are estimated to be at risk of food insecurity in the Sahel

FAO called Friday for urgent action to support farmers and herders caught in a cycle of recurring food crises in the Sahel region of western Africa. Agropastoralists in the Sahel face mounting challenges from drought, cereal and fodder crop declines, environmental degradation, high food prices, and chronic poverty. Cereal outputs have fallen an average of 25% in the past year.

The response includes assistance with planting and harvesting, targeting nutrition education for women with children, and reinforcement of food security information and early warning systems. Regional coordination of multiple humanitarian organizations presents a more integrated approach to addressing the crisis.

Read more about the efforts of FAO and its partners.

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Celebrity auction for Horn of Africa

Submitted by Steve Hirsch on December 16, 2011

The U.S. Agency for International Development, Ad Council and MTV Act have launched a celebrity auction to raise awareness and money for the Horn of Africa crisis.

According to USAID, the auction, which runs through 18 December, “features exclusive items and experiences from MTV artists and show talent” such as Snooki, Rob Dyrdek, Nick Jonas and Kelly Clarkson.

Proceeds will go to a group of eight organizations, including the American Refugee Committee, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, World Vision, UNICEF USA, and World Food Program USA.

The auction is part of the USAID and Ad Council FWD (Famine, War, Drought) Campaign. Launched in September, it is aimed at raising awareness of the crisis in the Horn of Africa and linking Americans to actions that can help those in need.

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Prices ease a bit, cereal production forecast up

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on December 8, 2011

Photo: ©FAO/Vasily Maximov Speaking of prices, FAO released its November Food Price Index today, which saw prices virtually unchanged from their October levels. At the new level of 215 points, the Index was 23 points, or 10 percent, below its peak in February 2011 but remained two points, or one percent, above its November 2010 level.

The prices of cereals, one of the main commodity groups included in the Food Price Index, dropped by 3 points or  1 percent from October.

Contributing to the downward pressure on cereal prices is the significant upward revision of the 2011/2012 global cereal supply estimate as a result of better crop prospects in some Asian countries and the Russian Federation, and larger than anticipated stocks in the latter. Other factors include deteriorating world economic prospects and a strong U.S. dollar.

These are among the highlights of the latest issue of FAO’s quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report also published today. The report confirmed a record level of world cereal production of 2 323 million tonnes for 2011 – a 3.5 percent increase on 2010 production. FAO says that this should be sufficient to cover the expected increase in utilization in the coming year and also allow for a moderate replenishment of world reserves.

Read more on the report, including updates on the world’s food insecurity hot spots.

For more on the global price situation, watch this Bloomberg interview with FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian.

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The F word

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on October 6, 2011

Great new video from ONE – part of their new campaign to raise awareness about the crisis in the Horn of Africa:

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Graphics of crisis

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on September 30, 2011

FAO’s Director General recently called for “adequate and predictable funding” to combat the food crisis in the Horn of Africa. Other organizations have also devoted attention to the issue of aid dollars going towards the drought and famine in Africa. USAID has set up a Famine, War, Drought (FWD) relief website to facilitate donations. The ONE campaign took an infographics approach to analyzing national contributions to the aid effort.USAID

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Geography of risk and hunger

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on September 1, 2011

What makes a country at risk for food crisis? With famine in the Horn of Africa still raging, this is a question that continues to be of critical importance. Maplecroft, a British risk analysis and mapping company, released their Food Security Risk Index (FSRI) ranking the vulnerability of countries to food insecurity. The analysis considers the FAO definition of food security and looks at the factors contributing to food insecurity in each region. For Sub-Saharan Africa, these driving forces include  ”low capacity to combat the effects of extreme weather events such as drought; prevalence of poverty; and failing infrastructures, which undermine both food production and emergency food distribution capacity,” with conflict also playing a role.  Eight of the top ten countries most at risk for food insecurity are located in Africa.

Source: Maplecroft

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Secretary Clinton on famine and feeding the future

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 12, 2011

On Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the International Food Policy Research Institute on the famine in the Horn of Africa, stressing the need for both urgent short-term emergency relief and long-term support to agricultural self-sufficiency and food security.

“While we hurry to deliver life-saving assistance, we must also maintain our focus on the future by continuing to invest in long-term food security in countries that are susceptible to drought and food shortages.”

Clinton announced an additional $17 million in U.S. emergency assistance, with $12 million earmarked for Somalia, bringing total U.S. humanitarian assistance to the region to more than $580 million this year.

“Though food shortages may be triggered by drought, they are not caused by drought, but rather by weak or nonexistent agricultural systems that fail to produce enough food or market opportunities in good times and break down completely in the bad times.

“In other words, a hunger crisis is not solely an act of God. It is a complex problem of infrastructure, governance, markets, education. These are things we can shape and strengthen. So that means this is a problem that we can solve.”

Watch the video of the event here or read the complete transcript of Secretary Clinton’s remarks here.

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