In Eastern Africa, the situation is particularly serious as drought and conflict has put an estimated 20 million people in need of food aid.

FAO Assistant Director General Hafez Ghanem said food prices in poor countries that are net importers of food still remain stubbornly high despite a good 2009 world cereal production.

The report was published ahead of the Rome World Summit on Food Security to be held on November 16-18. “For the world’s poorest people who spend up to 80 percent of their household budgets on food, the food price crisis is not over yet,” Ghanem said. “It is now a global priority to increase investment in developing country agriculture in order to fight poverty and hunger,” he said.

FAO is hosting a “Hunger Summit” at its headquarters in Rome from 16-18 November 2009. The summit aims to securing a broad consensus on the immediate reduction of hunger with a focus on boosting public and private investment in agricultural development in poor countries.

The report notes that 31 African countries are facing serious food challenges and therefore require emergency assistance.

Worrying situation

In Eastern Africa the situation is very worrying due to expected crop and pasture failures from poor rains in several areas, the increases in conflicts, and trade disruptions and continuing high food prices. Kenya’s maize production for example, is expected to be 30 percent down on last year.

In Western Africa, cereal production in 2009 is to decline from last year’s good crop. Below average rain required re-planting in many parts of West Africa and led to livestock losses in Mali, Chad and Niger, the report said.

About 3.8 million Kenyans are estimated to be highly or extremely food insecure. In Ethiopia, the number of people requiring relief food assistance increased from 5.3 million in May to 6.2 million in October.

In Uganda approximately 1.1 million people require food assistance. In southern Sudan and Darfur, the continuation of civil conflict is worsening the dire food security situation already faced by millions. Some 5.9 million people are estimated in need of food assistance.

In North Africa aggregate wheat production is expected to reach a new record of 21.5 million tonnes compared to 14.3 million tonnes in 2008 when the crop was badly affected by drought.