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FEWS Bulletin - July 1998

Countries
Ethiopia
Sources
USAID
Publication date

Ethiopia
Compilation of production figures for Ethiopia's belg (secondary) harvest is not yet complete, but field assessments show a mixed picture. As a result of poor rainfall, production is a near total failure in Tigray Region and is poor in North and South Wello Zones. East and West Hararghe also have reported below-average harvests. Elsewhere in the north, including North Shewa Zone (which accounts for more than 40 percent, on average, of total belg production for the northern highlands), local agricultural and early warning offices report good harvests. In the south, local offices report the best belg production in years. National belg production should be near the average for 1994 through 1997. Most areas with poor belg production are already receiving food assistance that is programmed to last until the meher (main) harvest in November. Consequently, the impacts of localized belg production shortfalls should be limited.

In the southern and southeastern pastoral areas, water and pasture availability is still good, despite decreased rainfall at the end of the pastoral rainy season (March to June). The Saudi Arabian ban on livestock imports is still in effect. An FAO team is in Ethiopia to assess the status of the Rift Valley fever that led to the ban, and its report should provide technical details to the
Saudi Government for its consideration of lifting the ban.

On June 15, the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission requested additional donor assistance for populations in northern Tigray and Afar Regions displaced by the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The initial request is for 27,000 MT of food assistance to feed 300,000 persons for 6 months. Shelter materials, household utensils, clothing, and medicines are also included in the appeal. The U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia has made a disaster declaration concerning these displaced persons and has granted US$25,000 to the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission to help address immediate needs.

About 8,000 MT of Title II food aid from the United States and some 28,000 MT of food from WFP have arrived in Djibouti to be transported to Ethiopia. These newly arrived stocks are mainly destined for distribution in Tigray and Amhara Regions, where the need is greatest. The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission has also moved stocks from warehouses in other Regions to avoid interruptions in distributions in these Regions.

NOTE:

The FEWS bulletin is published for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Africa Bureau, Assistant Administrator, Disaster Response Coordination (AFR/AA/DRC) by: The FEWS Project, No. 698-0491 (Contract No. AOT-0491-C-00-5021-00), ARD, Inc. Contractor: Associates in Rural Development, Inc., Burlington, VT.

Electronic hypertext versions are available at http://www.info.usaid.gov/fews/fews.html. This document should not be construed as an official Agency pronouncement. Comments and suggestions regarding the FEWS bulletin should be addressed to the FEWS Director at the address below.

FEWS Project
ARD, Inc.
1611 N. Kent Street, Suite 1002
Arlington, VA 22209 USA
Telephone: 703-522-7722
E-mail: info@fews.org