Over 1 million Malawians to require food assistance
A total of 1 062 674 people, out of the total estimated Malawi rural population of 14 747 257 will not be able to meet their annual food requirement during the 2019/20 consumption period, a latest report by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) has shown.
The report released today, shows a decrease in the affected population from 3,306,405 people during the 2018/19 consumption period.
The 2019/20 affected population which represents 7 percent of the total Malawi rural population is in all 27 districts which were assessed with varying degrees of severity.
“This decrease has been as a result of increased agriculture production during the 2018/19 agriculture season due to favourable weather in general, despite instances of flooding, Fall Army Worm infestation and extended dry spells in some districts,” reads the report in part.
The total humanitarian maize that is required to support the affected people is estimated at 33,810 Metric Tonnes (MT) with an estimated cash value of about K6.76 billion. In addition, the report shows that the affected population will also require 6,762 MT of pulses, costing about K10.14 billion and 1,244 MT of vegetable oil, costing about K2.24 billion.
Secretary to the treasury Cliff Chiunda has since given an assurance that government, in collaboration with its development partners, will be implementing response interventions to assist the affected population.
“Meanwhile, the National Food Reserve Agency is in the process of procuring maize to increase their stocks to be able to manage any eventualities. In addition, ADMARC is procuring maize from the smallholder farmers to ensure that the commodity is available in all its selling points, so as to stabilise the prices of maize, in particular during the lean period,” said Chiunda.
He Further said government in collaboration with stakeholders will continue to implement safety nets and resilience building interventions across the country.
The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, through MVAC, carried out an annual food security assessment exercise which was completed end July 2019.
The exercise was aimed at assessing the food security situation in the country, and determining the number of people who are likely to be food insecure during the 2019/20 consumption year.
