Climate Change to fuel hunger in poverty struck Southern Africa

by Miriam Mannak | January 21, 2009 at 06:34 am

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By Miriam Mannak (story written for Inter Press Service)

Climate change will have a significant impact on southern Africa’s already compromised food security, environmental experts warned.

At the moment, Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions were hunger is most widespread. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, one in three people living in this part of the world were chronically hungry in 2007. Sub-Saharan Africa is also hardest hit by extreme poverty, harbouring 75 percent of people worldwide that live on less then a dollar a day.

Since 2007, erratic rainfall has led to increased food shortages in southern Africa where droughts damaged and destroyed maize crops in Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

As a result, southern Africa faced a shortfall of 2.18 million metric tonnes of maize in 2006 and, according to researchers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), people in southern Africa lacked more than 4 million metric tonnes of maize in 2007/2008.

Increasing food shortages have become a trend, cautioned Sepo Hachigonta of the Climate Systems Analysis Group (CSAG), a climatology research group based at UCT. Read more here.

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Paschen

at 07:36 on January 21st, 2009

This is a good Post and reminder and there are many more in NP’s Environment section and yet, even though in the media each and every week, no one seems to hear the message nor realize the seriousness of the warning signs. Thank you for the post on this.

http://my.nowpublic.com/environment/agricultural-apocalypse-and-upcoming-food-shortage

Miriam Mannak

at 07:35 on January 21st, 2009

Thanks Paschen, for the compliment.

Amy Judd

at 08:27 on January 21st, 2009

I don't doubt that this is going to be a huge problem. Good piece

Miriam Mannak

at 11:25 on January 21st, 2009

Thanks Amy! It is very sad. In Malawi people are now exchanging their bicycles -which are their lifelines - for food. A bicycle might not seem very valuable to us, but in many countries in Africa is people's only way to get from A (home for instance) to B (work or markets to sell/purchase food).

SOLARLIFE

at 13:22 on January 21st, 2009

So they need a cell phone, to know what is the market price. Africa today is the fastest growing mobile phone market of the world. Poverty comes from centralized corruption energy and corrupt leaders supported by Western Offshore Mining companies backed by Hedge Funds backed by Military weapon business.

Miriam Mannak

at 23:33 on January 21st, 2009

Hey Solar Life - The problem is that many farmers do not have a lot to sell, as crops have failed for the past seasons. besides, it seems to me that most Africans already have a cellphone.

Another problem, as it seems, is GM seed which is sterile. It makes farmers dependent on donors of these seeds - which costs money.

Anyway - the causesof the hunger are so numerous ...

SOLARLIFE

at 13:23 on January 21st, 2009

Miriam, hello to Cape town, good Africa reports thanks

Miriam Mannak

at 23:34 on January 21st, 2009

Hello to you too! Thanks for the compliments :)

158

at 14:57 on January 21st, 2009

Good report.

They need to start working on a solution now.

Miriam Mannak

at 23:34 on January 21st, 2009

Thanks :)

Ryan Price

at 15:39 on January 21st, 2009

Fortunately, through positive government intervention and mainly the grace of God, Malawi has experienced good crops for the last few seasons. The reality for many of Africa's people is regrettable in the world that we currently live in. We could definitely do more to care for the world we are stewards over and create a better existence for generations to come.

Ryan Price has contributed a photo to this story.

Miriam Mannak

at 22:36 on January 21st, 2009

Interesting - because Malawi in one of the countries hardest affected by drought and erratic rain fall, as well as widespread hunger. Together with Zimbabwe, Malawi is the hardest affected by hunger. This discrepancy can be explained by the fact that Malawi has recently exported 400.000 tons of maize to Zimbabwe.

Former president, Mr Muluzi, has called the situation dire. “The hunger situation in Malawi has reached alarming levels. The government should admit that we have no maize in the country to enable humanitarian aid to come forward,” he said.

gerrypopplestone

at 19:20 on January 21st, 2009

Excellent post! National Geographic and the BBC do excellent series of programmes on wild life and hunger! Do they do much on human hunger! You bet they don't!

akkaarsberg

at 23:50 on January 21st, 2009

Maize field close to Capalautse in the western province of Tete, Mozambique

akkaarsberg has contributed a photo to this story.

Miriam Mannak

at 00:10 on January 22nd, 2009

Thanks for adding your picture!

azzayindia

at 10:26 on January 22nd, 2009

it is having impact in Mussoorie as we speak no snow this year

Petr Kosina

at 13:00 on January 26th, 2009

Cath is very common light drug (tonikum) in Ethiopia. Cath fields can be seen along the roads in many parts of the country as it is a good income for the por farmers. My pictures are from around Harrar.

Petr Kosina has contributed a photo to this story.