Drought: South Africa faces grain shortage

The expected production deficit, especially of maize, is expected to intensify food insecurity, raise prices and increase import needs in the region, FAO warned in a press release.

Maize represents almost 20% of the calories consumed in southern African countries.

And acute food insecurity, which affected 16 million people in the region during the first three months of this year, could worsen further, FAO continues.

According to her, countries that usually export cereals such as South Africa or Zambia will not be able to meet the demand, and the shortage of cereals could also affect Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.

Read also: UN to rescue Malawi facing severe drought

In recent months, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have successively declared a state of national disaster.

The poor harvest forecast is linked to “widespread and significant rainfall deficits in February, exacerbated by record temperatures,” FAO notes.

The recurring El Niño weather phenomenon returned in mid-2023, causing global temperatures to rise, and could last until May.

According to a recent study by the international network of scientists World Weather Attribution, which assesses the link between extreme weather events and climate change, the drought in southern Africa is mainly due to El Niño rather than due to climate change.