Namibia severely food insecure, FAO warns
Close to 700 000 Namibians grappling with hunger
Weather and price shocks, as well as subdued economic growth, are key factors driving the high levels of acute food insecurity.
Namibia has been identified as one of 33 countries in Africa in need of external food assistance.A Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, released this month, classifies Namibia as a country grappling with severe localised food insecurity.
The report projects that an estimated 695 000 people could face acute food insecurity in Namibia between October 2023 and March 2024, a significant increase over the previous year’s figures.
“Weather and price shocks, as well as subdued economic growth, are key factors driving the high levels of acute food insecurity,” the report states.
Southern Africa, furthermore, is expected to begin harvesting the 2024 cereal crops in April, which is later than normal on account of the slow onset of seasonal rains.
“Reflecting typical El Niño conditions that have influenced weather conditions in 2023/2024, cumulative rainfall amounts across large portions of the sub-region have been well below average.”
Acute impact
Key cropping zones in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as in Namibia, received only up to 80% of average rainfall quantities between mid-November 2023 and February this year.
“Significant rainfall deficits were recorded in February, a period when moisture stress tends to have a more acute impact on crop yield potentials, and remote sensing data indicated stressed vegetation conditions at the end of this month.”
Warmer than average temperatures and an erratic temporal distribution of rains are additional aggravating factors, the report states.
The weather outlook points to continued below-average rainfall amounts in March and April, suggesting a low likelihood of any recovery in cereal crop conditions, and yields are therefore expected to be at average to below-average levels in 2024.
Weather shocks
The report notes that in most countries, cereal prices were at higher year-on-year levels in December 2023 and January, reflecting the cumulative impacts of weather shocks on 2023 domestic production, elevated international commodity prices, and weak currencies that intensified exchange rate pass-through effects on domestic prices.
“Farther ahead, a key upside risk to price growth is represented by the impact of El Niño-related rainfall deficits on cereal production in 2024.”
Prices of white maize rose at a quicker pace than yellow maize, reflecting the more pronounced precipitation deficits in western parts of the country where most white maize is produced. In the net cereal-importing countries of Botswana, Eswatini and Namibia, retail prices of maize meal were generally stable in the last quarter of 2023.