A national food security assessment completed in December 2009 in Niger showed approximately 7.8 million people, totaling three-fifths of the country’s population, face moderate to severe food insecurity, say UN officials. Specifically, 2.7 million Niger citizens suffer from severe food insecurity and 5.1 million suffer moderate food insecurity.
An irregular and shortened rainy season last year contributed heavily to the conditions producing insufficient grain and fodder levels for livestock. More than half of the population is estimated to have less than two months’ food supplies until the next harvest, estimated to be October 2010.
The government of Niger is attempting to determine approximately how much funding is needed to provide adequate food supplies to its people.
Niger faces precarious food security related situations as its climate is unpredictable. The 2005 drought in the country led to severe food shortages, consequently leading the UN to undertake a number of initiatives, including funding appeals, to prevent the famine that had already killed thousands of Niger’s children and threatened to affect nearly three million others.
Posted by Patricia Lee
