$45 million additional funding urgently needed to support Ethiopian agriculture.

Figure: A farmer near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, tilling the soil with cattle and plough before the planting process.

FAO 12 August 2016, Rome - With this year's main planting season winding down in Ethiopia, there is still a small window of opportunity in September for farmers to plant the last set of crops this year and grow food for millions facing hunger, provided the necessary support arrives on time.

The newly released Mid-Year Review of the Ethiopia Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) - developed jointly by the Government of Ethiopia and UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other development partners- indicates that 900 000 additional households need urgent agricultural support bringing the total number to 2.9 million in August. Meeting additional agricultural sector needs  will require $45 million bringing the total requirement for the agriculture sector to $91.3 million for 2016.

The overall food security situation has improved only slightly, with the number of people requiring emergency food assistance having decreased from 10.2 million to 9.7 since the beginning of the year. 

The El Niño-induced drought caused a wide-scale failure of crops and loss of livestock critical to the livelihoods of farmers and agropastoralists. The drought is being followed by seasonal floods, which have already led to crop damage and the inundation of pastures and may be further exacerbated by a phenomenon called La Niña, expected from October onwards.

"If floods worsen later this year, there could be outbreaks of crop and livestock diseases, further reducing agricultural productivity and complicating recovery," said Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative to Ethiopia.

"The situation is critical now. We must make sure that farmers will be able to plant between now and September and grow enough food to feed themselves and their families thus avoiding millions of people having to rely on food assistance for another year. Ethiopia needs urgent global support to respond to its humanitarian needs, we have no time to procrastinate," Allahoury added.

The meher season is Ethiopia's main agricultural season and produces up to 85 percent of the nation's food supplies. If the farmers do not plant enough now, Ethiopia may face significant food shortages, which may further exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity in the country.

To ensure the last remaining planting window of the year is met, an estimated $8.8 million is needed to provide root crop planting materials, legumes, vegetable and cereal seed to 530 000 households.

FAO estimates that households who lost small ruminants such as sheep may need at least two years to return to pre-drought levels, while cattle-owning households may need up to four years to recover. Animals that survived the recent drought are still weak and susceptible to diseases during the rainy periods; $36.2 million is required to undertake the necessary interventions to support 2.4 million livestock-dependent households (or 12 million people).

See more: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/429198/icode/