Millions Facing Hunger in Africa due To Drought, FAO says

Poor harvests due to lack of rain, combined with worsening conflict and the effects of El Niño, are aggravating an already serious food insecurity situation in East Africa, the UN Food Agency (FAO) said in a report. Production of the 2009 first season crops in Uganda, where millions are already considered food insecure, is forecast at well below average levels, representing the fourth successive poor harvest. FAO said that in the Acholi region of northern Uganda alone, cereal production is estimated at about 50 percent below the average.

Prospects are also grim for neighboring Kenya. The maize crop, which accounts for 80 percent of total annual production, is estimated at 1.84 million tons, about 28 percent below normal levels. The already depleted national cereal stocks, exports bans in neighboring countries and persistent high cereal prices are expected to make things worse. FAO made the same forecast in Ethiopia. Limited rains have resulted in crop losses of up to 75 percent in some of the hardest hit areas.

Read the original story at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35570/icode/