The state of food and nutrition security in southern Africa will be high on the agenda when regional leaders meet in Harare, Zimbabwe on 17 August 2024 to discuss socio-economic and political developments in the region over the past year.
According to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, the 44th SADC Summit will, among other key issues, receive an update on the food security situation in the region, particularly the impact of the El Nino-induced drought and the flooding that occurred in some member states during the 2023/24 agricultural season.
At least four SADC countries - Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe - have declared the drought situation a state of national disaster.
In February this year, President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia said a severe drought had affected nearly 10 million people in 84 of the 116 districts of the country.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera appealed for humanitarian assistance amounting to US$200 million for people in 23 of the country's 28 districts affected by drought.
In April, Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that nearly three million people in the country were estimated to be food-insecure due to drought, and appealed for US$2 billion for immediate response to address the situation.
Lesotho declared a state of national disaster in July, with Prime Minister Samuel Matekane attributing the low agricultural yields to drought that affected the country.
Based on the 2024 SADC Regional Humanitarian Appeal released in May, crop production has generally decreased this year when compared to a five-year average.
For instance, Malawi's official 2nd round crop estimates indicate a 2023/24 maize production of 2.93 million metric tons (MT), 23 percent below the five-year average.
Preliminary estimates from Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform indicate that cereal production this season is expected at 47 percent below the five-year average cereal production.
South Africa was also affected by the drought conditions, and their updated crop production estimates released in April includes a revised maize production estimate of 13.97 million (MT),10.2 percent down from the five-year average, primarily as a result of the February-March dry conditions.
In Zambia, 982,765 hectares of maize, 43 percent of the planted area, was destroyed by the drought.
Further, Zimbabwe's crop production figures estimate a cereal harvest of 744,271 MT, representing a drop of 71 percent from the previous season.
It is worth to note that many of the areas that have suffered reduced crop production due to the drought include typical surplus producing areas that normally export grain to other Member States within the region.
Meanwhile, the United Republic of Tanzania has a surplus of 4 million tonnes of maize grains for possible trade with Member States facing deficits.
In response to the drought situation, SADC Chairperson President João Lourenço of Angola launched a US$5.5 billion humanitarian appeal to assist more than 61 million people affected by the drought and flooding in the region.
The regional appeal was launched during an Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held virtually on 20 May to discuss the humanitarian situation and measures to mitigate the impact of the El Niño-induced drought and floods.
Lourenço called on the "international community, the private sector and individuals of good will to assist to meet the needs of the affected population."
He further appealed to those SADC Member States with capacity to assist the affected countries "in keeping with our long-standing tradition of regional solidarity and cooperation."
In response to the appeal, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Food and Agriculture Organisation pledged US$33 million and US$10 million, respectively, towards the regional appeal.
A plea was made to the media to use its wide reach and influence to highlight the needs of the affected populations to draw the attention of the international community to the urgency and scale of the humanitarian situation that the SADC faces to help in resource mobilisation.
The regional appeal complements the on-going efforts by individual Member States to mobilise resources to support people affected by the drought and floods.
This cyclic weather pattern affecting the region results from the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system, a naturally occurring phenomenon that involves fluctuating ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
El Niño is a term for the warming phase of the ENSO, while the cooling phase, which has global climate impacts opposite to those of El Niño, is referred to as La Niña.
El Niño and La Niña can make extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and storms more likely, as they influence temperature and rainfall patterns.
During most El Niño episodes, drought conditions usually prevail over most of southern Africa while La Niña often results in wet conditions with a high risk of floods occurring in the region.
In contrast to the low rainfall experienced in some parts, other SADC Member States such as Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania recorded flooding due to heavy rains and tropical cyclones which destroyed infrastructure such as houses and roads.
Some parts of Malawi were affected by flash floods.
In mid-March 2024, Tropical Storm Filipo hit Mozambique with maximum winds exceeding 90 km/hour, gusts exceeding 120 km/hour, and heavy rainfall reaching 150 mm in 24 hours. The storm mostly affected Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza, and Maputo provinces.
Besides affecting agriculture production, the intense drought has negatively impacted hydropower generation in the region resulting in reduced capacity, affecting production across all economic sectors leading to power rationing.
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Assessments conducted by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) in April this year showed the possibility of 2024 recording the lowest lake inflow ever for Lake Kariba as a result of the drought. The Zambezi River supplies water for power generation for Zambia and Zimbabwe.
One of the most severe El Niño-induced droughts in the region occurred in the 2015/16 season and left an estimated 40 million people food-insecure, with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe declaring a state of disaster.
Between January and April 2019, some countries in the region faced weather-related phenomena such as Tropical Cyclones Desmond, Idai and Kenneth, which caused extensive flooding in the Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Southern African News Features offers a reliable source of regional information and analysis on the Southern African Development Community, and is provided as a service to the SADC region.
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SANF is produced by the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), which has monitored regional developments since 1985. Email: sanf@sardc.net
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