SAKARAHA, Madagascar – Recent floods and swarms of locusts have threatened food insecurity in southern Madagascar. According to a report published by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the irregular weather conditions and a locust plague have severely affected the rice and maize harvests and have resulted in up to 4 million people lacking food, or 28 percent of households in the African country. It is estimated that 9.6 million more people will face food insecurity due to these natural disasters facing Madagascar.
The WFP-FAO report, known as the “crop and food security assessment mission,” was administered in June and July 2013 and has specified that production of rice and maize have decreased significantly, causing a substantial national deficit. In fact, the production of rice, which is Madagascar’s staple crop, decreased by 21 percent this past year. Additionally, maize will need to be imported from elsewhere in order to maintain domestic supplies.
Facing this situation of desperation, locals in Madagascar have resorted to catching as many insects as possible and consuming them to sustain their diets. Even though the FAO has confirmed that eating locusts does not pose a health risk to the locals, they are not a substitute for rice as they cannot be stored for a very long period of time. However, given their situation, locals have come to the unfortunate realization that there is not much they can do.
In order to prevent further setbacks from the threat of food insecurity, the FAO has teamed up with the government of Madagascar and has established a three-year plan to tackle the ongoing locust swarms. This plan will include aerial investigations to help locate the locust populations and spraying more than 5 acres of locust-infested land with pesticides. The budget for the campaign stands at an estimated $41.5 million, but it has only secured about $24.2 million so far.
In fact, national and international funding efforts to stop the locust plagues have been met with difficulty since the 2009 coup d’état, which resulted in the halt of emergency aid to Madagascar. The African nation has also been met with disturbances due to its recent reductions in human rights protections, civil and political freedoms, and decrease in gender equality standards.
However, at a conference in Johannesburg on October 21, UNICEF pointed to the October 25 elections as a chance for Madagascar to get back on track and secure funding to help improve food security in the country.
– Elisha-Kim Desmangles
Sources: The Guardian, IRIN, Global Post
Photo: Relief Web