| |
KATHMANDU, Nov 21: UN food agency has painted bleak picture of food security situation in mid and far western districts and some other hilly districts in the coming season as stock of food after the summer harvest would not last for long due to poor harvest.
“It is expected that without food assistance the households, which have faced crop losses, will face a critical food security situation from January onwards as the summer harvest will not be sufficient to adequately replenish seriously depleted household stocks,” the latest food security report of the UN World Food Program (WFP)-Nepal says.
Delayed paddy plantation and poor winter harvest is all set to take it´s sever toll in food security situation in mainly western hilly districts in coming season, says the UN food agency in its food security bulletin.
In its latest quarterly food security bulletin, WFP-Nepal states that districts witnessing serious crop losses and food insecurity are Bajura, Achham, Darchula, Jumla, Humla, Mugu, Dailekh, Rukum, and Taplejung.
“Further price spikes for staple grains are expected in early 2010 due to recent large scale crop losses in South and Central Asia,” states the report. A survey conducted by the agency shows the production of paddy, millet and maize depleted there by whopping 30 to70 percent in different VDCs.
During the coming months, short-term food security should continue to improve across most of Nepal as the current harvest of summer crops -- paddy, millet and maize -- will be completed.
“However, the long-term outlook is that food security will decline within the next six months as summer crop production at the national level is expected to be generally weak,” the report adds.
Generally, households facing crop loss by 30 or more than 30 percent are regarded as food insecure, depending on the availability of other livelihood opportunities.
The WFP´s report also shows that VDCs within Kalikot, Dolpa, Rolpa, Makawanpur, Sindhuli, Udayapur and Panchthar suffered a loss of at least one crop by 30-70 percent.
Of almost 476 households surveyed by WFP, only 25 percent planted their primary crop on time and nearly 65 percent reported poor seed germination during this cycle, the report states.
During the past 18 month period, since the peak of the major international food crisis, the price of key commodities has continued to increase in Nepal with potato, the most popular vegetable item, seeing the highest rise in the price.
The WFP´s report states price of potato went up by 116 percent, musuro (broken lentil) by 67 percent, black gram (mas) by 36 percent, coarse rice by 24 percent and wheat flour by 17 percent.
According to the report, an estimated 3.7 million or 16.4 percent rural population is under food insecurity owing to huge loss in winter crops caused by long drought.
|
|
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
