South Sudan: Escalating food crisis in 2017, FAO warns (07.11.2016)

WFP South Sudan 2016

07/11/2016: An increasing number of South Sudanese will continue to face difficulty in meeting daily food needs in the coming months despite harvests, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has warned.

The end of the lean season and start of harvests in South Sudan are traditionally associated with a reduction in food insecurity due to more food stocks and lower food prices in the markets, bringing much needed relief. According to recent FAO assessments, the number of severely food insecure people at this time is 3.7 million people – 31 percent of the country’s estimated population and an increase of an overall 1 million people compared to the same period last year.

Though harvests have provided some reprieve, FAO experts warn that the benefits will be short lived as local stocks will deplete rapidly. Following seasonal patterns food insecurity levels in 2017 is destined to rapidly deteriorate to massive proportions. The risk of famine is increasingly real, especially for South Sudan’s most vulnerable communities.

“The renewed violence has had severe repercussions on agricultural production and stability needs to be restored to enable farmers to return to their fields. We are seeing an unprecedented number of food insecure people at harvest time and many more people at risk of starvation in the months to come as stocks run out. There is a need to act now to prevent a catastrophe,” warns Serge Tissot, FAO Representative.

The Equatoria region which is responsible for over half of the country’s net cereal production has been severely impacted by the recent violence. In active conflict areas, an estimated 50 percent of all harvests have been lost and even more farmers were unable to plant for the second season due to insecurity. The displacement of people from those areas is also due to have profound effects on agricultural production, FAO experts warn.

Moreover, of grave concern is the most fragile areas Northern Bahr el Ghazal where the structural drivers of food insecurity – including the protracted economic crisis, market failure and the loss or depletion of livelihood assets – have continued to escalate. FAO’s harvest assessments findings show that farmers in this area have produced less than last year, with some areas being hard-hit by flooding and dry spells, raising their vulnerability. The report highlights Aweil East where sorghum production almost halved, dropping from 0.9 to 0.5 tonnes.

Since the outbreak of fighting in South Sudan’s capital Juba and other parts of the country, cereal prices have increased by more than 500 percent compared to the same period last year. Trade has been crippled by rampant insecurity along the main trade routes and traders’ inability to access hard currency for imports forcing them to close-down their businesses.

“With the market collapsing and many families having little to no safety nets to cope, we must empower them with the means to produce their own food. With this we want to structurally strengthen their livelihoods and boost their resilience,” explains Tissot, FAO Representative.

During the forthcoming dry season campaign, FAO aims to target 1.2 million people with distributions of vegetable and fishing kits and provision of trainings to farmers on modern farming techniques to increase yields. At the same time, FAO is preparing to meet the country’s greatest needs for the main planting season; this includes the provision of much needed agricultural inputs so that the most vulnerable can produce their own food. For this to happen, the food agency requires US $ 28 million by the end of the year.

Zimbabwe: Partial Closure of the Hospital of the Binga District Hospital (03.11.2016)

zim-binga-district-hospital-03-11-2016

Zimbabwe: The Reserve Bank will with Immediate Effect start Process towards Issuance of Bond Notes as a legal tender (01.11.2016)

zim-bond-notes-01-11-2016-p1zim-bond-notes-01-11-2016-p2

FAO’s Situation Report on South Sudan (24.10.2016)

fao-south-sudan-24-10-2016-p1fao-south-sudan-24-10-2016-p2

Zimbabwe: Letter – “Re: Request to use the Police Band for our Demonstration against Police Brutality (24.10.2016)

zim-mdc-t-police-24-10-2016

Chama Cha Mapinduzi on Zimbabwe (Youtube-Clip)

Zimbabwe: ‘Re: Cancellation of Elective Surgiccal Operations’ at United Bulawayo Hospitals (14.10.2016)

zimbabwe-bulawayo-14-10-2016

Zimbabwe: Bulawayo – ‘We will be implementing a water shedding programme in November 2016 if we do not have any substantial inflows in the dams’ (12.10.2016)

bulawayo-12-10-2016

Zimbabwe Youth Council Statement on the Support Rendered by the Minister of High & Tertiary Education through ZIMDEF (11.10.2016)

zyc-11-10-2016-p1zyc-11-10-2016-p2zyc-11-10-2016-p3

Zimbabwe: More on Bond-notes as they are coming while the banks are cash-strapped as ever…

zimbabwe-cars-oct-2016

This week there are reports that some banks are only delivering cash of the value of $30 and most of it is in coins, not even bank-notes.

There are reports of cash crisis in Bulawayo, where the businesses and corporations are only allowed to take out cash in the values $100-300 at the banks.

The release of Bond-Notes has not delivered strength or given the citizens of Zimbabwe any more power in trading or living standards. The release of Bond-Notes only happens given the government new excuses to buy fresh cars.

Justas there are now reports of the Zimbabwe Development Fund used by the ZANU-PF and their Youth League to hold sham demonstrations in March as a counter to the #ThisFlag and #NERADemos. That proves what development funds are used to. What will so the vitalizing of the economy with the Bond-Notes?

This economy is so in shambles that the government has been reported sold over 25,000 baby Elephants to the Chinese, also tried to get farmers to swap from Maize to Millet to cash in on export of the crop instead of feeding their own.

All of this is happening as the nepotism of the government continues with the President son-in-law Simba Chikore getting a noble position in the faltering, but still viable Air Zimbabwe.

While this is happening the ironic so-called or somewhat of cornerstone of journalism are reporting about suit selling hawker in Harare, than all the cash-strapped issue the Republic has. But hey, the BBC has surely written enough about the Kardashians this week.

zim-bond-coins-2014

This has been official reported:

“Zimbabwe’s vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa has just undone weeks of careful PR by the beleaguered central bank chief by saying the about-to-be-introduced bond notes will be a currency, if a report by the official Herald newspaper is to be believed” (…) “The Herald quoted the vice president on Friday as saying: “We need a mode of transaction which we can control in the country on the basis of security provided by the [African Export-Import] Bank 200 million.” (…) “will be able to have a currency that circulates within its jurisdiction” (…) “When reporter Bernard Mpofu telephoned Mangudya, he was reportedly told that his questions “did not help anyone” (News24/AllAfrica.com, 07.10.2016).

So the borrowed monies, that will add on debt to the nation and most likely give the country more inflation as the county is already cash-strapped by the little cash given to the citizens from the banks.

Next up is the 2008 formula and make emergency notes with Trillion upon Trillion in value to seal the inflation and debt level made by the government.

The Robert Mugabe only cares about himself and keeping his power at this point. Therefore he pays of his men with cars and bigger bonuses while the others who are not needed by him are in long lines asking for breadcrumbs and little given to them. Nearly none, and not even given to them what they have worked for because the banks doesn’t even pay out the salaries or needed cash to pay of their rent and food. Peace.