Page 12 - Vol.40-No.4 issue

CROP PROTECTION

diversity and to promote women’s economic Warns of maize shortfall across
empowerment,” said FAO Representative in
Uganda Antonio Querido. "We look forward Southern Africa
to working with the EU, the Government of
Uganda and our other partners to move this
important project forward," he added.
Economies of scale

Another goal is to achieve economies of
scale by aggregating more of the country’s
smallholder tree farmers and wood proces-
sors.
Access to a!ordable "nance for small and
medium enterprises in the wood sector is
another challenge the initiative seeks to ad-
dress, through measures such as provision of
"nancial literacy, business management ad-
visory support, and improved connections
with the "nancial sector.
As demand for wood products increases
domestically and regionally, it’s both eco-
nomically and environmentally crucial for
Uganda to develop a sustainable wood-
based value chain which could help the
country transition towards a carbon-neutral
economy. An essential requirement for this
is combating the illegal timber trade. This
causes substantial losses in tax revenues and Cereal production prospects in Southern This combination of reduced harvests
along with continued reliance on charcoal Africa have taken a sharp turn for the worse and rising food prices is particularly harm-
for energy in many urban areas, contributing since last February, the Food and Agricul- ful for agricultural households and restora-
to deforestation.
ture Organization of the United Nations tion of production,, as farm incomes are set
“The project, which is part of the broad ac- (FAO) warned today (Monday/Tuesday). to be squeezed while more resources will
tion under the EU-GOU Forest Partnership, is The foreseen shortfall in production, es- be needed to purchase food, said Jonathan
in line with the National Development Agen- pecially for maize, is expected to intensify Pound, economist at FAO’s Global Informa-
da for the forestry sector focused on enhanc- households’ food insecurity, push up do- tion and Early Warning System.
ing value addition to forestry resources, re- mestic prices and spur a surge in import Plan ahead for shift to La Niña
ducing environmental degradation and the needs across the subregion, according to
adverse e!ects of climate change as well as a new assessment from FAO’s Global Infor- This observed pattern is typical of the El
improving utilization of natural resources for mation and Early Warning System. White Niño weather phenomenon in the region,
sustainable economic growth and livelihood maize accounts for almost 20 percent of FAO noted.
security,” said Alfred Okot Okidi, Permanent calories consumed in the subregion. Current forecasts however point a high
Secretary, Ministry of Water and Environ- likelihood of a transition to a La Niña phase
ment. “The Ministry is proud of this collabo- The disappointing forecast comes af-
ration and is fully committed to playing the ter “widespread and substantial rainfall later in the year, with more beneficial pre-
policy and regulatory, and technical coordi- deficits in February, exacerbated by record cipitation patterns.
nation role necessary for this programme,” high temperatures, a particularly dam- That makes it “imperative” to scale up
he added. aging combination for crops,” the report resilience-bolstering measures enabling
said, noting that there are scant hopes of
Reducing pressure on natural farmers to prepare adequately for the next
a recovery before the harvest period com-
resource mences in May. agricultural season starting in September
If Uganda’s forest plantations are man- Acute food insecurity in southern Africa, 2024, FAO said.
aged sustainably and environment-friendly, estimated at 16 million people in the first The governments of Malawi, Zambia and
the pressure on natural resources can be re- three months of 2024, could deteriorate in Zimbabwe have already declared drought
duced and legal and deforestation free eco- late 2024, FAO warned. emergencies. Teaming up with the NASA
nomic growth enabled. Food prices, already rising at annual Harvest programme, FAO geospatial obser-
Over the last 15 to 20 years, with support rates above 10 percent, are likely to rise vations suggest that key cereal crops will
from the EU, FAO and other partners, substan- further and, based on current projections, su!er adverse impacts in parts of Angola,
tial investment has been made into the forest South Africa and Zambia, typically maize Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Afri-
sector, meaning that the volume of wood pro- exporters, will not be able to cover the ca and Zimbabwe, with Zimbabwe, Malawi
duced is expected to grow substantially in the supply shortfall, and Zambia has started and Mozambique expected to see a notable
coming years. Circle 10 on enquiry card importing maize to meet the shortfall. jump in import needs. Circle 11 on enquiry card
10 Vol. 40 No. 4