Food Assistance Following Drought & Locusts

Balance Requested from ACT Alliance: US$590,504

In extensive parts of Niger, both the agricultural production of 2004 and grasslands reserved for cattle have been severely affected by drought and swarms of locusts. The government and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimate a national crop shortage of 224,000 tons. Two thirds of the crop failure can be attributed to the insufficient rainfall in 2004 and one third to the locust plague. It is calculated that in the most severely affected regions of Niger approximately 3.5 million people in 3,755 villages would suffer acute malnutrition.

An ACT appeal was issued on July 23 and revised on August 9, 2005 including proposals from ACT members, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS) to respond to this crisis. This revision includes the following changes:

Lutheran World Relief (LWR)’s original appeal was designed as a quick response to the crisis and included limited food distribution. With this revision, LWR intends to expand food distribution providing food rations, consisting of locally available staple cereals, until the end of September when the harvest occurs. Since some areas have not benefited from rains at all, they may require continued food distribution. The food intervention proposed is not designed to meet the total dietary needs of the targeted population. It intends to meet the population’s most immediate needs and bridge the gap until WFP and other donor food pipelines are flowing. Distributions may shift as these pipelines come online, allowing LWR to re-target and concentrate efforts as needed.

Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS) revision includes a follow-up of the project included in the original appeal that was implemented from April to August 2005. The new proposal will be implemented from September 2005 to May 2006 and intends to continue providing some food aid and at the same time, focussing on agriculture recovery inputs to 97,100 persons in 50 villages . HEKS revised project is already fully funded, therefore, no additional support is requested for this project.

Project Completion Date:

LWR - 30 December 2005
HEKS – 31 May 2006

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested (US$)

*this amount is only for LWR

Mieke Weeda
Acting Director
ACT Co-ordinating Office