HIGHLIGHTS
• Food insecurity persists throughout Southern Africa
• Above-average rainfall likely to improve crop production regionally; however, some areas at risk of flooding
• Armyworm infestations damage maize in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
• Drought-affected households in Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe will continue to experience Crisis—IPC 3—levels of food insecurity until spring harvests begin between March and May, and some households in isolated areas may face Emergency—IPC 4— levels of food insecurity during the peak of the January-to-March lean season, according to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).5 In Malawi, limited amounts of emergency food assistance may result in a deterioration from Stressed—IPC 2—to Crisis levels during February and March, FEWS NET reports.
• Mid-January forecasts from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicate conditions for above-average rainfall throughout much of Southern Africa from February–April. Several parts of the region received heavy rainfall in December that adversely affected crop conditions, according to FEWS NET.
• Infestations of fall armyworm—an invasive species of caterpillar from Latin America that destroys maize—in Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe may result in substantial damage to crops, according to FEWS NET. The International Red Locust Control Organization for Central and Southern Africa (IRLCO-CSA) reports that crop damage in Zambia and Zimbabwe may result in significant crop losses and an overall reduction in 2016/2017 production if infestations are not adequately contained.
• In response to continued food insecurity, USAID/FFP recently contributed more than $12.7 million to the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide emergency food assistance in Madagascar and Zimbabwe during the lean season.