Mangel på majs lurer forude i den fattige nation
LILONGWE, 9 February 2012 (IRIN): Malawi’s maize-growing central and southern regions have not had good rains, prompting concerns about possible shortages of the staple (grundnæringsmidlet) in the coming months.
– I think it could be one of the worst shortages we have seen in recent times, said an early warning official who preferred anonymity.
– The rains have never been so erratic (spredt / sparsom). In some parts of Malawi small farmers have gone in for a second round of planting after the crops failed; and the seed they have used is not of good quality so it will not give good yields, noted he.
With maize plants still in the early stages of growth, there is concern the crop might not be ready for harvest at the usual time in April-May.
– The lean (magre) season (which ends in March) might be extended for a longer period, said the early warning official.
The latest situation update (on 31 January) from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is, however, optimistic that despite erratic rains there are “still positive indications that the country may still register a good harvest if the rainfall season goes up to end March or early April”.
The Southern African country has adequate supplies of maize for the moment and the number of people in need this lean season has been low – 201.854 – compared to previous years (when numbers have often run into a million at least).
But aid workers say the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC), which comprises the government and civil society, is currently revising the figures and the numbers could go up by at least a third.
Unprecedented floods early in the year in the southern district of Nsanje have displaced more than 6.000 people; some areas have also been affected by a cholera outbreak, with 64 cases reported so far.
It is complicated
Læs videre på http://www.IRINnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=94825
