Day: July 26, 2022

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

Cereal production in 2022 estimated well below average

Import requirements for cereals forecast to increase in 2022/23 marketing year

Elevated global prices contributed to domestic inflationary pressure

Food insecurity expected to increase in late 2022

Cereal production in 2022 estimated well below average

Harvesting of the 2022 main season summer cereal crops, mostly maize and sorghum, is complete. Production of maize, the main cereal staple, is about one‑third of the average, while the sorghum output is almost negligible.

The poor harvest was primarily due to torrential rainfalls during January and February, which caused localized flooding and resulted in crop losses. The heavy rains were most prominent in the main cereal‑producing northwestern areas, with a significant negative impact on yields of the main season summer crops, mostly due to waterlogging that resulted in extensive weed infestations.

Including an average output of 6 000 tonnes of the minor winter wheat crop, to be harvested in November in northern regions, total cereal production in 2022 is forecast at 35 000 tonnes, well below the previous five‑year average.

Import requirements for cereals forecast to increase in 2022/23 marketing year

Reflecting the very low production, cereal import requirements in the 2022/23 marketing year (April/March) are forecast at high levels. The total amount of cereal imports needed to maintain stable national consumption levels is 237 000 tonnes, including 146 000 tonnes of maize and 86 000 tonnes of wheat. Most imports are expected to be sourced from South Africa.

Elevated global prices contribute to domestic inflationary pressure

According to the Consumer price index (CPI), prices of bread and cereals increased by about 4 percent on a yearly basis in May.

In addition to the expectations of a poor 2022 harvest, the increase in food inflation is mainly driven by high international prices of food and energy, including in South Africa, the main source of cereal imports.

Food insecurity expected to increase in late 2022**

According to the latest national food security assessment, 22 percent of the rural population are expected to face IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) acute food insecurity between October 2022 and March 2023, compared to 15 percent between July and September 2022. The forecasted proportion translates into 320 000 people in rural areas, while an additional 201 000 people in urban areas are foreseen to also need assistance.

The foreseen increase of acute food insecurity levels is primarily due to the reduced harvest, high food prices in basic food and non‑food commodities and a slow recovery of households’ income reflecting a downturn economic growth. This has compromised the purchasing power of very poor and poor households, resulting into some households engaging in negative livelihood coping strategies.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The U.S. Senate voted 64-32 on Tuesday to advance legislation to dramatically boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing in a bid to make the domestic industry more competitive with China.

The legislation provides about $52 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production as well as an investment tax credit for chip plants estimated to be worth $24 billion.

The Senate is expected to vote on final passage in coming days and the U.S. House could follow suit as soon as later this week.

President Joe Biden and others have cast the issue in national security terms, saying it is essential to ensure U.S. production of chips that are crucial to a wide range of consumer goods and military equipment.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called the vote “a symbol of the strong bipartisan coalition working to build more chips in America. These chips keep our economy strong and our country safe.”

The bill aims to ease a persistent shortage that has dented production in industries including automobiles, consumer electronics, medical equipment and high-tech weapons, forcing some manufacturers to scale back production. Auto production has been especially hit hard.

“The pandemic made clear with unforgiving clarity how America’s chip shortage was creating a crisis,” the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer said before the vote.

The Semiconductor Industry Association said the vote is a “vital step toward enactment of legislation that will strengthen American chip production and innovation, economic growth and job creation, and national security.”

Biden pushed hard for the bill, which has been in the works for well over a year, with a version passing the Senate in June 2021 but stalling in the House. This frustrated lawmakers from both parties who view competition with China and global supply chain issues as top priorities.

Critics like Senator Bernie Sanders have called the measure a “blank check” to highly profitable chips companies.

Biden met virtually on Monday with the chief executives of Lockheed Martin Corp, Medtronic and Cummins Inc along with labor leaders as part of the administration’s push for the legislation.

Source: Voice of America                            

Russia said Tuesday it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 to build its own orbiting outpost. The country’s space chief made the announcement during a meeting with President Vladmir Putin.

Yuri Borisov, CEO of state space agency Roscosmos, said during the meeting that Russia plans to fulfill a promise to its partners before fully stepping away.

“Of course, we will comply with all our commitments to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made,” Borisov said during the meeting. “I think we will have started work on the Russian space station by that time.”

Moscow has made it clear that creating a Russian space station is one of its main priorities.

The U.S. space agency has not been made specifically aware of Russia pulling out of the International Space Station, a senior NASA official told the Reuters news agency.

NASA and the other partners involved in the International Space Station hope to continue their partnership through 2030, but Russia has been unwilling to commit to anything past 2024.

The announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions between the West and Moscow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also comes just a month after NASA and Roscosmos agreed to continue using Russian rockets to deliver astronauts to the space station.

Source: Voice of America