Food security to improve—Fewsnet
The improved humanitarian assistance is likely to prevent crisis and emergency food insecurity outcomes initially projected for the Southern Region for January-March 2013, according to Fewsnet food security update.
Fewsnet in October indicated that millions of Malawians were at risk due to high maize prices and inadequate humanitarian response funding.
The October report indicated that food access would continue to be constrained by increasing maize prices, limited maize supplies, further depreciation of the currency exchange rate and rising transportation costs.
Fewnet’s latest update, however, said food insecurity in the areas of concern in the Southern and Central regions where humanitarian assistance has started is improving due to the roll-out of the assistance programming.
It expects that the assistance needs for all of the 1.97 million people facing food insecurity in the Southern Region as earlier indicated by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) will be covered.
“Humanitarian assistance continues to be scaled up and has been well received in all districts. The World Food Programme (WFP) targeted 629 734 beneficiaries with in-kind food assistance and 67 177 beneficiaries with cash transfers in November.
“Some of the cash transfers are being implemented by an Oxfam-led consortium and some by Save the Children. Cash transfer beneficiaries are receiving the cash equivalent of the current food basket valued at the prevailing market rate,” reads the report in part.
In addition, the Malawi Government released 47 600 metric tonnes of maize from their Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) to meet maize requirements for the humanitarian assistance response plan through March.
The report further indicated that consumer reports in the Southern Region show that Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) supplies continue to be erratic.
“Due to this, households that are ineligible for humanitarian assistance continue to depend on very expensive maize from private traders in local markets. In both northern and central Malawi, maize prices rose by about seven percent, while in the Southern Region maize prices increased by eight percent in November. The Karonga market in Karonga District in northern Malawi reported the highest average price of K87.57 (about $0.25) in November,” says the report.
Based on a Fewsnet market assessment in December, Admarc supplies are expected to be erratic in most markets, and it is assumed unlikely that traders will reduce their prices because of high demand for maize and increasing distances between where traders are sourcing and selling their maize.
