COUNTRIES REQUIRING EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE FOR FOOD

FAO assesses that globally 45 countries, including 33 in Africa, nine in Asia, two in Latin America and the Caribbean and one in Europe, are in need of external assistance for food. In East Africa, engendered by multi-season droughts, the food insecurity situation is grave and unless humanitarian assistance is scaled up, famine is expected in parts of Somalia. Globally, multi-year high inflation rates, amid challenging macroeconomic environments, are aggravating food insecurity conditions, particularly in low-income food -deficit countries.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

AFRICA

Widespread and substantial rainfall deficits are foreseen to cause a decline in harvests in East Africa, notably in Somalia and parts of Ethiopia and Kenya, while inadequate water and rangeland resources have caused extensive livestock deaths.

Although floods in West Africa resulted in localized crop damage, the overall abundant rainfall is expected to support a production increase in 2022. Drought and extreme weather events in parts of North Africa and Southern Africa caused reduced 2022 cereal outputs in most countries.

ASIA

Cereal production in Far East Asia is forecast at a high level in 2022, buoyed by above-average prospects in the leading producing countries, China (mainland) and India. However, a macroeconomic crisis in Sri Lanka contributed to a well below-average harvest while a severe flooding compromising production in Pakistan. In the Near East, cereal harvests in the majority of countries are estimated at below-average levels due to dry weather conditions, while a near-average output is foreseen among CIS Asian countries following broadly conducive rainfall.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

In South America, unfavourable rains have dampened wheat yield prospects in Argentina, the leading producer, nevertheless the overall aggregate cereal outturn in the subregion is forecast at a record high, underpinned by large maize plantings. In Central America and the Caribbean, 2022 cereal production is seen to dip below the average, while the hurricane season is still active, heightening negative risks to crops and food security.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations