A joint crop assessment team comprising officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, the World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has recently carried out a field survey to take account of the crop situation, and the market and supply conditions in more than three dozen districts that have been affected by the ongoing food deficit.
The team had already made public that wheat and barley production across the country has dropped 14.5 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively, due mainly to the long drought and insufficient rainfalls of last winter.
To cope with the looming food crisis, which has been further compounded by the bleak prospects for the coming maize production season, the team has suggested short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to the government.
The team has estimated that the total deficit will be in about 133,000 tons of food grain: that estimate was calculated by playing off the 5.17 million tons of production against the 5.30 million tons of annual requirement. Forty districts have been put on the deficit list.
Under the immediate measures, the joint team has recommended the creating of seed and fertilizer provision programs, to be conducted by the FAO in coordination with coordination the MoAC; the disseminating of knowledge about organic farming techniques, including the effective use of farm yards, manures and compost in inaccessible districts; the regular monitoring of food security situation throughout the affected areas; importing key food items to ease the supply of food grains in the needy areas; and regularly monitoring and assessing market prices and supplies of food commodities.
As for the medium-term impact interventions recommended, the team has stressed the need to enhance the knowledge of improved cereal crop production among the public; to ask farmers to include potatoes among their key crops; to ask people to increase investment in agriculture; and to enhance the people´s knowledge of how to properly use agricultural tools and related items.
Similarly, the subsidization of fertilizers; improving the quality of seeds and irrigation facilities, so as to increase crop yields and lessen farmers´ vulnerability to droughts; making improvements in the research and utilization of and in the awareness of cash crops and their market potential have also been suggested.
The other medium-term suggestions include the establishment and the promotion of the use of community seed banks and community seed production and marketing schemes; the continuing of the consultation between the WFP and the MoAC to deal with food insecurity has also been suggested.
Under the long-term impact interventions, the assessment team recommended improving road access, implementing crop diversification, and commercializing programs in food -deficit districts. Support for the development and utilization of drought-resistant crops and farming methods that are appropriate for the hill and mountain districts were also stressed.
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