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PRODUCTION ON FOOD SECURITY IN SNNP REGION ------- Summary ------- 1. Late, uneven, and generally poor 2008 seasonal rains resulted in poor coffee production and expected decreases in sweet potato cultivation, negatively affecting food security in eastern Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) Region. Humanitarian agencies expect food insecurity in coffee-producing and sweet potato- dependent areas of SNNP Region to continue until the usual green maize harvest in June, negatively affecting more than 600,000 individuals in coffee- producing areas in the coming months. 2. In response, USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID/Ethiopia continue to provide assistance through non- governmental organization (NGO) partners and report on humanitarian conditions. In Sidama and Wolayta zones, the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia multi-donor Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) protects approximately 553,000 chronically food insecure individuals' assets and livelihoods through predictable transfers of cash and/or food from January to June 2009. USAID provides approximately one third of all transfers in the PSNP. With USAID/OFDA funds, GOAL is also providing nutritional support to vulnerable populations in SNNP Region. End Summary. ------------------------------- Coffee: An Important Cash Crop ------------------------------- 3. In Gedeo and Sidama zones, SNNP Region, coffee production and associated casual labor represent important sources of income generation. According to the 2003/2004 household economy analysis, 60 percent of poor coffee farmers in Gedeo Zone and nearly 75 percent of poor individuals in Sidama Zone earn a substantial proportion of income either from coffee sales or associated casual labor. For many coffee farmers, coffee production is the only means of acquiring cash revenue, which farmers use to purchase supplementary food items and agricultural inputs and pay for school fees and health care. 4. Most coffee-producing parts of SNNP Region are vulnerable to food insecurity. Even in non-coffee crisis years, children are often underweight for age and mothers are underweight for height due to low average crop yields and limited saved crops, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) staff. Therefore, the impact of low coffee production on nutrition is often immediate and widespread. ---------------------------------------- Decreased Coffee Production in 2008/2009 ---------------------------------------- 5. In 2008, long dry periods and uneven rains caused poor coffee seed formation in SNNP Region, resulting in nearly 60 percent failed coffee production in Sidama and Gedeo zones. According to preliminary findings from the 2008 meher multi- agency assessment team, decreased production is threatening food security for more than 600,000 individuals during the next six months, as families have less available income to purchase supplementary food items. In addition to reduced coffee production, decreased coffee and wage labor prices, reduced casual labor opportunities, and increased cereal prices are negatively affecting coffee farmers and laborers, according to the assessment team. 6. Up to 40 percent decreases in domestic coffee prices and more than 50 percent increases in cereal prices compared to 2007 have created adverse terms of trade between coffee and major cereal crops, according to OCHA staff. Coffee farmers typically purchase cereal crops to meet food requirements until the green maize harvest in June. The combination of adverse terms of trade and reduced coffee production have resulted in a shorter length of time that income from coffee sales will cover food needs. 7. Due to coffee production shortfalls and price reductions, coffee processing plants are not employing as many workers as in previous years and are paying workers reduced salaries. According to OCHA staff observations, only 32 of 85 wet coffee processing plants are currently operating in Gedeo, employing 60 casual labors per day compared to 600 last year. In Sidama, 132 of 288 wet coffee stations had initiated operations as of mid- December. In addition, the price of casual labor in coffee processing plants has decreased by up to 38 percent compared to December 2007. OCHA staff expressed concern that significant numbers of coffee workers in production, processing, marketing, and transportation are also unemployed or underemployed. --------------------------------------------- Sweet Potato: An Essential Transitional Crop --------------------------------------------- 8. For many farmers in Wolayta Zone, SNNP Region, sweet potatoes are a reliable food security crop, providing critical food supplies between the cereal harvest in December and the green maize harvest in June. The sweet potato plant has the advantage of having a late planting season--typically from September to October--making the crop valuable to farmers when rains are delayed. In addition, sweet potatoes are short-cycle crops, enabling farmers to harvest crops much earlier than cereals. -------------------------------- Sweet Potato Production Concerns -------------------------------- 9. Late and uneven 2008 rains resulted in poor sweet potato production, leading to an estimated 50 percent reduction in cuttings available for planting in September, according to USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). Although sweet potato plants are currently forming normally, FEWS NET estimates a 50 percent decline in sweet potato production in 2009 compared to previous years due to the reduction in cuttings for planting. ---------------------- Increased Malnutrition ---------------------- 10. Local health officials and NGOs report increased malnutrition rates in Sidama, Gedeo, and Wolayta zones. In early January, USAID/OFDA partner GOAL reported increased admissions to nutrition centers in Shebedino and Boricha woredas, Sidama Zone, and Damot Fulasa and Damot Gale woredas, Wolayta Zone, compared to early December 2008. In addition, an SNNP Region Food Security, Disaster Prevention, and Preparedness Bureau and Emergency Coordination Unit assessment indicated high levels of severe and global acute malnutrition in Dilla Zuria, Wanago, and Kochere woredas, Gedeo Zone. As the peak April to May hunger period approaches, humanitarian organizations expect child vulnerability to acute malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality to increase unless humanitarian organizations provide timely assistance. ---------- Conclusion ---------- 11. Areas striving to recover from serious food shortages as a result of the 2008 belg failure are once again facing serious humanitarian challenges. Decreases in coffee production, coupled with low coffee prices and unemployment in Sidama and Gedeo zones are threatening food security for an estimated 600,000 people for the next six months. In Wolayta Zone, humanitarian agencies anticipate significantly reduced sweet potato production in 2009, limiting communities' access to important transitional crops between December and June harvests. 12. Through predictable transfers of cash and/or food during the first six months of 2009, the PSNP protects the assets and livelihoods of approximately 553,000 chronically food insecure people in Simada and Wolayta zones. USAID provides approximately one third of all transfers in the PSNP. In addition, GOAL is providing nutritional support in Sidama and Wolayta through the establishment of community-based therapeutic feeding programs with USAID/OFDA funds. USAID/Ethiopia and USAID/OFDA staff will continue to monitor the food security situation in SNNP Region and report on humanitarian conditions. YAMAMOTO

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