§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What independent forecast they have made of the shortfall in staple foods in Ethiopia this year. [HL1158]
§ Baroness AmosThe Department for International Development relies on the assessments by UN bodies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation and 87WA United Nations Development Programme Emergency Unit for Ethiopia; the EC, to whom we second a food security specialist; reports from the International Red Cross and NGOs and our Food Security Field Manager in Addis Ababa.
The UN estimates that Ethiopia faces a critical food gap between now and late April 2000 of about 250,000 MT of food. A European Union advance pledge of 50,000 MT is almost finalised and the Netherlands (5,000 MT) and the UK (9,000 MT) have also made pledges. A World Food Programme bridging appeal for approximately 32,000 MT is almost fully resourced.