“About 20 percent of the population is in a vulnerable situation, or 2.7 million people,” said Hamani Harouna, a government official.

To avoid famine, the authorities plan to distribute free food to the most vulnerable and to sell cereal cheaply, Harouna said.

Last October, Niger Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ANDH) released a statement warning of a food shortage threat that might affect 2.6 million people.

But the government had accused the ANDH for quoting false figures and that there was no famine in sight.

The authorities also accused ANDH of making the alert to tarnish the image of Niger and to raise funds from international institutions on the pretext of tackling food shortages.

But by acknowledging now that 2.7 million people face famine, the government seems to be giving reasons to ANDH.

In 2005, some 3.2 million in Niger faced famine after a drought and after their crops were ravaged by locusts. Mass starvation was avoided with the help of the intervention of the international community, according an AFP report.