§ 24. Sir Sydney ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the likely effects of crop failures in the Horn of Africa. [115453]
§ Clare ShortCrop failure is a regular occurrence in the Horn of Africa and communities have developed strategies for dealing with its effects. These include diversification of agricultural production systems and other socio-economic strategies, such as migration. Extreme hardship through crop failure is usually the result of conflict or poor crop management.
Harvests were poor in 1999 in some parts of the Horn of Africa. It is too early to say if 2000 is likely to see serious crop failure in Ethiopia and Somalia but the UN estimates emergency food needs for 2000 will be as follows:
- Ethiopia (Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Commission)— 900,000 metric tonnes for 8.1 million people
- Eritrea (United Nations Country Team)—25,000 metric tonnes for 211,750 people
- Somalia (United Nations Appeal)—25,000 metric tonnes for 400,000 people.