Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 7/27/2006

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) - 1995-2005 ten years serving the

humanitarian community

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - SWAZILAND: Food aid still needed after another poor harvest

1 - SWAZILAND: Food aid still needed after another poor harvest

MBABANE, 27 July (PLUSNEWS) - Swaziland will once again be reliant on food aid

this year to feed one-fifth of its people, according to the UN's World Food

Programme (WFP).

Cereal production was even lower in 2006 than last year due to poor rains and

the impact of AIDS. Swaziland has the world's worst HIV infection rate at over

40 percent of adults.

WFP plans to feed about 200,000 people from July through to December 2006.

According to the agency, distributions will target HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and

mother-and-child health clinics; programmes for orphans and other vulnerable

children, and school-feeding programs in selected primary schools.

" The total available food after the 2006 harvest, which ended two months ago,

was 81,000 tonnes of cereals. Swaziland's consumption for the year is estimated

at 190,000, " said Abdoulaye Balde, WFP Country Representative for Swaziland. At

least 107,000 tonnes of food imports will be required to fill the gap.

" Most of the gap will be filled by commercial imports through the National Maize

Board. We are calculating how much that will be, the cereals that will be

available in shops for people to purchase. The shortfall will then be filled by

emergency food relief, " Balde told IRIN.

Since independence in 1968, Swaziland has historically been a net importer of

food, never achieving production of more than 49 percent of annual consumption.

However, over the last decade output has declined, related to a series of

droughts and the impact of HIV/AIDS on labour availability and rural incomes.

" The old adage, 'teach a man to fish, and he'll have food for a lifetime' has

been turned on its head because of AIDS. Our [just concluded] survey will show

that every family is affected by AIDS. The number of child-headed households is

growing, and households where only the elderly remain. Neither group is capable

of implementing farming instruction because they are unable to physically work a

farm, " Balde said.

The liquidation this week of the Central atives Union (CCU), which for

over 30 years worked to raise agricultural output and the incomes of

small-holder farmers, is likely to also have an impact on food security, said

Balde.

Rural instructors provided by the CCU taught small-holder farmers modern

agricultural techniques, and promoted the use of fertilizers and hybrid seeds.

Its principal achievement was to assist farmers to form cooperatives to reduce

costs and reap the benefits of economies of scale.

The sudden demise of the CCU, which took the agricultural community by surprise,

could be rooted in the debts incurred by expansion into non-core businesses. The

CCU operated supermarkets, petrol stations and hardware stores in the central

commercial hub Manzini, and in some rural towns.

jh/oa

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[This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information

service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its

agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer

to the copyright page (Http://www.irinnews.org/copyright ) for conditions of

use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian

Affairs.]

PLUSNEWS

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Fax: +27 11 784-6759

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Subscriber: AIDS treatments

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) - 1995-2005 ten years serving the

humanitarian community

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - SWAZILAND: Food aid still needed after another poor harvest

1 - SWAZILAND: Food aid still needed after another poor harvest

MBABANE, 27 July (PLUSNEWS) - Swaziland will once again be reliant on food aid

this year to feed one-fifth of its people, according to the UN's World Food

Programme (WFP).

Cereal production was even lower in 2006 than last year due to poor rains and

the impact of AIDS. Swaziland has the world's worst HIV infection rate at over

40 percent of adults.

WFP plans to feed about 200,000 people from July through to December 2006.

According to the agency, distributions will target HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and

mother-and-child health clinics; programmes for orphans and other vulnerable

children, and school-feeding programs in selected primary schools.

" The total available food after the 2006 harvest, which ended two months ago,

was 81,000 tonnes of cereals. Swaziland's consumption for the year is estimated

at 190,000, " said Abdoulaye Balde, WFP Country Representative for Swaziland. At

least 107,000 tonnes of food imports will be required to fill the gap.

" Most of the gap will be filled by commercial imports through the National Maize

Board. We are calculating how much that will be, the cereals that will be

available in shops for people to purchase. The shortfall will then be filled by

emergency food relief, " Balde told IRIN.

Since independence in 1968, Swaziland has historically been a net importer of

food, never achieving production of more than 49 percent of annual consumption.

However, over the last decade output has declined, related to a series of

droughts and the impact of HIV/AIDS on labour availability and rural incomes.

" The old adage, 'teach a man to fish, and he'll have food for a lifetime' has

been turned on its head because of AIDS. Our [just concluded] survey will show

that every family is affected by AIDS. The number of child-headed households is

growing, and households where only the elderly remain. Neither group is capable

of implementing farming instruction because they are unable to physically work a

farm, " Balde said.

The liquidation this week of the Central atives Union (CCU), which for

over 30 years worked to raise agricultural output and the incomes of

small-holder farmers, is likely to also have an impact on food security, said

Balde.

Rural instructors provided by the CCU taught small-holder farmers modern

agricultural techniques, and promoted the use of fertilizers and hybrid seeds.

Its principal achievement was to assist farmers to form cooperatives to reduce

costs and reap the benefits of economies of scale.

The sudden demise of the CCU, which took the agricultural community by surprise,

could be rooted in the debts incurred by expansion into non-core businesses. The

CCU operated supermarkets, petrol stations and hardware stores in the central

commercial hub Manzini, and in some rural towns.

jh/oa

[ENDS]

This is non-reply e-mail. Please do not hesitate to contact us at

Mail@....

Principal donors: IRIN is generously supported by Australia, Canada, Denmark,

ECHO, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and

the United States of America. For more information, go to:

http://www.IRINnews.org/donors

[This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information

service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its

agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer

to the copyright page (Http://www.irinnews.org/copyright ) for conditions of

use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian

Affairs.]

PLUSNEWS

Tel: +27 11 895-1900

Fax: +27 11 784-6759

Email: Mail@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments