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UN: ONE
IN FIVE TIMORESE NEEDS FOOD ASSISTANCE, UN REPORT SAYS:
23/6/2007 (MaximsNews.com,
U.N.)
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UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 23
June 2007
A new United Nations report says
one in five people in East Timor needs food assistance, blaming crop
losses on persistent drought and locust plagues.
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The
report issued yesterday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warns that to avert a major food
crisis, up to 220,000 vulnerable people living in outlying areas across the
country will require more than 15,000 tonnes of emergency food assistance,
particularly during the six months of the coming 'lean season' starting in
October.
A
poor harvest this year has worsened the already fragile livelihoods of
people all over Timor but especially among the poorest people living in
rural and more remote districts, said Anthony Banbury, WFP's Regional
Director for Asia.
And
for many of those displaced by the conflict during last year's crisis, who
continue to live outside of their communities, a restricted domestic food
supply means they will continue to rely on food assistance.
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The new
report, based on a joint assessment mission carried out by the two UN agencies
in March and April, suggests substantial reductions in all of the country's
crops due in large part to recurring drought, especially on the north coast, and
an outbreak of locust infestations in the western regions.
Production
of maize, Timor's most important crop, declined by 30 per cent to 70,000 tonnes.
Output of cereals, cassava and other tubers dropped by 25 30 per cent while rice
production decreased by 20 per cent, the report says.
We
need to continue to closely monitor the drought situation and any further locust
infestations to help provide Timorese farmers with the best information and
assistance, said Henri Josserand, Chief of FAO's Global Information and Early
Warning System.
The FAO/WFP
report also noted that the severe food crisis earlier this year, with commodity
price hikes and the virtual disappearance of rice from the market, highlighted
the need to improve food security policies, strategies and implementation
mechanisms.
In
addition to those affected by crop failure, Timor also has nearly 100,000
internally displaced people living in Dili or with relatives in the districts as
a result of a political crisis that began in 2006 in the country, which the UN
helped to shepherd to independence in 2002.
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