Food Strategies (Hansard, 17 June 2002)

§ Tony Baldry
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether an agreed strategy has been reached by OECD countries, the World Food Programme and NGOs, both international and local, on the food strategies affecting southern Africa which take into account the region's political and economic dynamics. [61082]

§ Clare Short
Agreement was reached at a meeting in Johannesburg on 6–7 June on a series of short-term measures to improve availability of food in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland in the period to the next harvest, including commercial food imports, food aid, winter cropping and inputs for the next main planting season.
The meeting also dealt with the particular problems of Zimbabwe, which accounts for over half of the region's food aid needs. Donors wish to continue supporting the people of Zimbabwe who have been so badly let down by the policies of the ruling party. They are prepared to continue funding food distribution through non-governmental channels, but it is clear that this can only provide part of the solution and that Government must take steps to allow greater participation in the import effort and make the necessary adjustments in economic policy for this to be effective.
In the longer term food security must be addressed through country level poverty reduction strategies which we are supporting in four of the six countries considered at the meeting.

§ Tony Baldry
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work her Department is undertaking to ensure that there is(a) accurate information on the country specific food shortages in southern Africa and (b) adequate co-ordination of the humanitarian operation at both national and regional levels in southern Africa. [61087]

§ Clare Short
We are working closely with the relevant UN organisations and NGOs operating in the region. The main source of information at present is the series of crop and food supply assessments carried out by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme (available on www.fao.org). We are supporting continuing vulnerability and nutritional assessments to ensure information is available at sub-national level.
The World Food Programme has set up a unit in Johannesburg to manage the use of transport and regional supplies and to co-ordinate the international effort. We will provide financial and personnel support for the unit.

§ Tony Baldry
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources her Department will allocate to combat the food shortages in Southern Africa; and what time scale these resources win be intended to cover. [61088]

§ Clare Short
In addition to the £13 million already allocated to direct support for food import and distribution in Malawi and Zimbabwe, we have recently committed £45 million for further support through the World Food 61W Programme and NGOs for food distribution and inputs for the next planting season in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland. This will be spent up to March 2003; the amount will be reviewed in the light of emerging needs and responses from others.
We have also provided £2.4 million for humanitarian aid in Angola this year.