Drought and Deluge: 900,000 Sri Lankans Face Famine

Sri Lanka’s Food Production Hit by Extreme Events

Growing food insecurity: Rice production to drop by 40 percent in 2017

Extreme drought followed by floods in Sri Lanka has hit large swaths of cropping areas, threatening the food security of more than 900,000 people in Sri Lanka, said a joint report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Program (WFP).

Drought conditions in 2016 and early 2017 led to widespread crop failures, especially the rice paddy – the country’s staple food. Total paddy production in 2017 is forecast at 2.7 million tons, about 40 percent less than the last year’s output.

Other crops, including various pulses, chillies and onion, which rely mainly on rainwater, were also heavily damaged by the dry weather, increasing food insecurity, said the report.

The situation was exacerbated by subsequent heavy rainfalls in May. Floods and landslides in the south-western parts of the country caused deaths, large population displacements and damage to infrastructure. The rains did not ease the water supply constraints in the drought-impacted north-central and eastern parts of the country.

 

Nearly 3M People in Central America Rely on Food Aid to Survive

2.8 Million people Need Food Aid in Drought-Hit Central America: UN

At least  2.8 million people in three Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras—need food aid after two consecutive years of severe drought decimated crops and exacerbated hunger among the poor, said the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“People are and have been selling their assets to survive, selling land and seeds, reducing the number of meals a day and reducing their amount of protein intake,” said a disaster response coordinator for Central America at the U.N. humanitarian agency (OCHA).

“Right now the situation is very serious, and it’s fragile.”

Losses as of September 2015 (FAO)

At an estimated 3 million tonnes across the subregion, this year’s maize harvest is expected to be far below average and some 8 percent below last year’s already compromised harvest.

Production declines are expected to be particularly sharp in El Salvador and Honduras, which both saw 60 percent of their maize crops destroyed by the irregular rainfall earlier this year. In El Salvador alone, losses are estimated at $28 million in seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and land preparation. Honduras additionally saw 80 percent of its beans perish.

In Guatemala’s most affected areas, some 80 percent of crops are estimated to have been lost, including 55,000 tonnes of maize and 11,500 tonnes of beans, affecting over 150,000 families.

Desert Locust Outbreak in Yemen Could Plague Surrounding Countries

Desert Locust outbreak in Yemen poses a potential threat to crops in the region

FAO has urged Yemen’s neighbors and other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iran, to take action to prevent the destructive insects from reaching breeding areas in their territories.

Strict vigilance is also required in Morocco and Algeria, especially in areas south of the Atlas Mountains, which could become possible breeding grounds for Desert Locust that have gathered in parts of the Western Sahara, Morocco and Mauritania, FAO added.

“The extent of current Desert Locust breeding in Yemen is not well known  since survey teams are unable to access most areas. However, as vegetation dries out along the coast more groups, bands and small swarms are likely to form,” said Keith Cressman, FAO Senior Locust Forecasting Officer.

‘A Force of Nature’

“Desert Locust hoppers can form vast ground-based bands. These can eventually turn into adult locust swarms, which, numbering in the tens of millions can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind,” said FAO.

Female locusts can lay 300 eggs within their lifetime while an adult insect can consume roughly its own weight in fresh food per day — about two grams every day. A very small swarm eats the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people and the devastating impact locusts can have on crops poses a major threat to food security, especially in already vulnerable areas.

Storm Death Toll Climbs to 140 in Puntland, Somalia

Puntland death toll could top 300

Final death toll from tropical cyclone 03A that hit Puntln, Somalia’s semi-autonomous region at the weekend could top 300, said the government.

Tropical cyclone 03A hit the Somali coast on November 10, 2013, prompting the Puntland government to declare a state of disaster on 11 November, citing very heavy rainfall and flash floods that have so far killed 140 people and at least 100,000 livestock. The government has “appealed for international aid to help the tiny Horn of Africa region, which is rich in energy resources and is being sized up by oil explorers,” said a report.

“So far we have confirmed the storm killed 140 people and left hundreds more missing. We are afraid the death toll may reach 300 because many people are still missing. Roads have been cut and the only access to those areas is by air,” Puntland’s interior minister told Reuters.

The government has asked the international community for supplies of clean water, non-perishable foods, medicines, shelter materials and blankets.

The cyclone brought torrential rains to the region causing flash floods that swept more than 100,000 livestock and scores of fishing boats into the Indian Ocean.

• About 65 percent of Somalia’s population depends on livestock, said the FAO.

• Famine has added to Somalia’s woes in the last three years.

“Knowing that livestock and fisheries are key livelihood activities in the affected regions, we anticipate the storm to heavily hurt coastal communities,” said the acting head of FAO in Somalia.

Related Links

• Hundreds Dead or Missing after Storm Hits Somalia November 12, 2013

Locust Plague Continues in Madagascar

Locust plague threatens livelihoods of 60% of Madagascar population

Locust infestations is threatening the livelihoods of 13 million Malagasy, about 60 percent of the population, nine million of whom entirely depend on Agriculture.

The locust could wipe out food crops and livestock grazing lands and destroy the peasant families’ ability to provide for themselves, said the FAO.

“The heart of the locust plague is in the country’s southwestern region – an area prone to drought and cyclones, where more than 80 percent of the people live below the poverty line. In February 2013, Cyclone Haruna flooded rice fields in the region’s coastal areas – rice production is central to Madagascar’s economy – causing significant damage while also creating ideal breeding conditions for locusts. ”

More than 1.5 million hectares, some two-thirds of the country, could be infested by locusts by September 2013, said FAO.

A locust plague can last more than a decade, if left untreated, progressively intensifying each season. Tens of billion of locusts  devastate food crops, as well as grazing lands, which are vital for keeping livestock healthy and productive.

Adult Migratory Locusts can multiply quickly, forming highly mobile groups and swarms. Depending on its size, a swarm – made up of millions of locusts – can eat up to 100 000 tonnes of green vegetation per day. A locust plague – which is what Madagascar is now facing – means thousands of swarms. That translates to billions of locusts. —FAO

Related Links

• Hundreds of Billions of Locusts Hit Madagascar March 28, 2013

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 6, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,041 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,041 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Hundreds of Billions of Locusts Hit Madagascar

Image of the Day: Hundreds of billions of plant-devouring insects hit Madagascar island.

The worst locust plague to hit Madagascar in 6 decades

A severe plague of locusts has infested about half of Madagascar, threatening crops and raising concerns about food shortages, according to FAO, a UN agency. FAO image via BBC.

“Nearly 60% of the island’s more than 22m people could be threatened by a significant worsening of hunger in a country that already had extremely high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition,” said FAO.

“The last one was in the 1950s and it had a duration of 17 years so if nothing is done it can last for five to 10 years, depending on the conditions.” FAO locust control expert told BBC Focus on Africa.

“Currently, about half the country is infested by hoppers and flying swarms – each swarm made up of billions of plant-devouring insects,” the FAO said.

“FAO estimates that about two-thirds of the island country will be affected by the locust plague by September 2013 if no action is taken.”

.

DISASTER CALENDAR – March 28, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,080 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,080 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs