" Food crisis looms in East Africa"

Ethiopia: 4.6m need emergency food support.
Another 5.7m need extra food or cash

Somalia: 2.6m facing acute food shortages -
could rise to 3.5m by end of 2008

Kenya: 1.2m need urgent food supplies

Uganda: 707,000 in dire need of food

Djibouti: 80,000 facing acute food shortages

Source: BBC News, 22 July 2008

Excerpt:

More than 14 million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid because of drought and rocketing food and fuel prices, the United Nations has warned.

The UN World Food Programme says it urgently needs $400m (£200m) to prevent starvation in the east African region.

Ethiopia is worst hit, with 10 million people - some 12% of the population - in need of extra food supplies.

Comment: The combination of food production problems due to bad weather and international high food prices is deadly. Let us hope the donor community is generous in the provision of funds to help poor nations deal with famine conditions.

I wonder whether we will not see this kind of condition more frequently as climate change continues? I would expect more frequent situations in which local food shortages result from seasons or longer periods of bad weather. I would also fear that as there are global shifts in production, and perhaps unwillingness to invest in agricultural capital as changes in crop ranges are occurring, there may be future shortfalls in global production. JAD