Worrying that many lacks food in Tanzania as the Staple food prices are increasing!

“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
― Orson Welles

There are worrying signs of higher prices on staple foods, as reports of the added price for Maize and Sorghum. With the likes of Maize that has skyrocketed over the last few months, the same has happen to Sorghum. The Central Government needs to stop the inflation of prices as this is key in the staple and adds strains to many of citizens.

Maize prices per 100 kg was 65,103.5 Tanzanian Shillings in December 2015 and by December 2016 it cost 85,159.8 Tanzanian Shillings. In a years time the prices on maizes has gone up 30 %. That is a worrying sign!

Sorghum prices per 100 kg was 81,638.1 Tanzanian Shillings in December 2015 and by December 2016 it cost 104,545.1 Tanzanian Shillings. In a years time the prices on Sorghum has gone up 28 %. That is not something anyone wants to see.

Just as the prices are rising, the dwindling levels of foods that has no been confirmed by the Minister:

“Reports of food shortages were initially denied by top levels of government, but were later accepted. At the end of January 2017, the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Charles Tizeba, told parliament that a study conducted by the Ministry, in collaboration with various partners, had found that 55 districts (out of 169 in Tanzania including Zanzibar) were facing food shortages, and

that “35,491 tonnes of food are required for supply between February and April 2017 to combat a shortage facing 1,186,028 people’’ in these districts” Sauti za Wananchi, 2017).

What is more worrying is the stats from the survey done by Sauti za Wananchi:

“The key findings are:

• Eight in ten households report that their income does not cover their daily needs

• Eight in ten households usually keep a stock of food in reserve in case a food shortage

arises

• A huge majority of Sauti za Wananchi respondents (78%) report food shortages in

their locations

• The price of maize has doubled in the past two years, even accounting for general

price inflation

• Seven in ten households worried about running short of food in the past three months

• The household food security situation has worsened between September 2016 and

February 2017” (Sauti za Wananchi, 2017).

When you have rising staple food prices, little or no reserves in the homes, as well as lacking income to combat the running prices on food. Set the citizens and the inflation into a devastating spiral that no republic want to go through. The United Republic of Tanzania Government needs to act swift and clear on the important issue and lack of safeguard, as the running expenses and lack of food security that is rising. Not only the prices, but this has all happen in the term of President John Magufuli, who needs to take charge and make sure his citizens can eat and earn enough to have a healthy living. The households needs a revamp and the structure with agriculture and food imports needs to change to significantly, these sort of number and amount of people lacking food is a dire situation. Peace.

Reference:

Tanzania – ‘Sauti za Wananchi – Brief No. 39’ (March 2017)

1.6 million People affected in hunger crisis and other growing issues in the agricultural sector in Uganda!

The Republic of Uganda has certain areas that have been affected with the drought and the lacking rain, which has affected the yields and output of food. The areas that has been in dire straits since El-Nino is in Teso, Karamoja and West Nile; these areas are in different stages, but all as worrying as the 1.6 million people are in a crisis situation, while 26% of all population or 9.3 million people are in a stressed situation. Let’s take a deep breath and look at the numbers coming from the offices of Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. That has delivered this numbers and they are worrying.

“An estimated 1.6 million people (5% of the total population) are in Crisis situation. Those populations are found in Central 1 (0.58 million); Karamoja (0.12 million), Teso (0.2 million), East Central (0.38 million) and South Western (0.31 million) regions. This population has widening food consumption gaps with deteriorating dietary diversity and high malnutrition rates. They are found in Central 1 (0.58 million), Karamoja (0.12 million), Teso (0.2 million), East Central (0.38 million) and South Western (0.31 million) regions. The affected population includes the poorest households with poor food consumption score, low meal frequencies of up to 1 meal a day and low dietary diversity of less than 3 food groups. They have poor purchasing power as their incomes are low and no food stocks at household level. They are mainly coping through food assistance, remittances from relatives, begging, stealing food, wild food gathering and irreversible sale of productive assets to buy food. This population currently needs assistance to bridge the widening food consumption gaps and avert worsening malnutrition” (Office of the Prime Minister, 2017).

You can wonder what is the plan of the Republic when they know that the people have poor purchasing power, while the dwindling yields of the small-farming in these regions, doesn’t have the purchasing power of central regions. The trades and lacking production has equally hurt these citizens in Teso and Karamoja. Therefore the drought and lacking rain-fall has made the situation worse, as much as the rising refugee camps also getting aid and support from United Nation organization. While the republic have not galvanized agricultural structures and supported the citizens in dire need. This shows that the state has forgotten the reason for its existence. But there are more!

“An estimated 9.3 million people (26% of the total population) are experiencing Stressed situation. Those populations are in East Central (1.88 million); South Western (1.24 million), Teso (1.1 million) and West Nile (1.04 million) regions. This population has minimum adequate food consumption, employing insurance strategies and are unable to afford some essential non-food expenditures. The prolonged dry spell due to La Nina phenomenon coupled with increasing incidences of crop and livestock pests and diseases such as Cassava Brown Streak, Cassava Mosaic, maize stalk borer, striga and Banana Bacterial Wilt grossly affected production reducing the availability and accessibility of food for this population. The low crop and livestock production negatively impacted household food stocks leading to increased reliance on markets for food. Increasing demand from external markets has induced food price increases, making it difficult for poor households to access food from the market. Deteriorating water and pasture conditions mainly in the cattle corridor have resulted in migrations of livestock keepers, reduction in livestock production and increased spread of livestock diseases. The over whelming influx of refugees from South Sudan has increased demand for food and services in West Nile region” (Office of the Prime Minister, 2017).

So it is bad that 1.6 million people are lacking resource, possibility to produce food, but also that the state doesn’t deliver help or aid to the people. The other numbers of affected people, shows even more the systematic defaults of the state to achieve good production of agricultural output, as the problems with crops, livestock and diseases that shown with Cassava Brown Strak, Cassava Mosaic, Maize Stalk Borer, Sriga and Banana Bacterial Wilt. All of these should be worked on and nourished by the state, through agricultural programs that stops the spread of diseases. This should be important at this stage by not only the Office of the Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja should have used the institutions to find solutions to the added strains in the agricultural industries, together with one of his State Ministers.

That the Ministry of Agriculture and Hon. Ssempijja has been lacking guidance as well as funding, most been shown when the millions of affected citizens are the result of little or no plan on important industry as it is. Where so many work and could need state structures to help and guide. There are lacking instruments and use of government institutions to help out in the dire need. Even find out ways to stop the growing problems that makes such a big part of population affected. When a state has 26% of it affected by various issues and the State can find ways to sort it out, than that should be priority, not to buy airplanes and cut taxes for the MPs, but to fix the agricultural yields and water-irrigation that needs. Peace.

Reference:

A Publication of the Office of the Prime Minister – Department of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Management – “The Official Government of Uganda Inter- Ministerial/Agencies Monthly National Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning Bulletin

15th FEBRUARY to 15th MARCH 2017” Volume 01. Series No. 01. Issues No. 04.

Bank of Uganda: Monetary Policy Statement for February 2017 (15.02.2016)