60% of Eritreans need aid

2005-06-10 10:03

Rome - About 2.3 million Eritreans, or almost 60% of the population, need food aid as a result of drought and conflict with neighbouring Ethiopia, said United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Thursday.

Rome-based FAO said: "Five years of severe drought in Eritrea, coupled with the ongoing border dispute with Ethiopia, have exhausted the coping mechanisms of vulnerable farming families throughout the country, contributing to widespread poverty and food insecurity.

"To reduce dependency on emergency food assistance and improve the ability of rural populations to adapt to recurrent drought conditions, agricultural inputs such as seeds, farming tools, animal feed and veterinary support are also needed."

The statement said Last year's meagre harvest had already been exhausted and the hunger season, which arrived two months early in March, was expected to continue until the next harvest in November.

Eritrea, Ethiopia sign peace agreement

Many households could be forced to consume their limited stocks of seed and sell or eat their breeding animals.

FAO said although Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace agreement in December 2000, tensions remained over their still-disputed border.

With large numbers of men doing compulsory national and military service requirements, there was a shortage of skilled manpower.

FAO said it was procuring seeds for the June planting season for distribution to 27 000 poor, drought-affected families in the main crop production regions of Gash Barka, Debub and Anseba.

FAO's emergency co-ordinator for Eritrea, Marco Falcone, said: "But importing seeds only solves the problem for a year or two."

"Promoting local production of quality seeds is the only way out of the situation, particularly given the rather fragile agro-ecology of Eritrea, the non-availability on the international market of adapted varieties and poor quality of local seeds."

- SAPA