HIGHLIGHTS
Kiremt rains begin on time with normal rainfall distribution
GoE distributes 627,000 MT of relief food assistance to date
2016 HRD is two-thirds funded; revised HRD imminent
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) predicts that harvests from the February-to-June belg rainy season will be moderately below average due to the delayed start of the season and excessive rainfall and flooding in some areas. Belg assessment results, expected in the coming weeks, will provide more clarity on harvest yields, drought and flood impacts, and humanitarian needs.
The June-to-September kiremt season has started in northern and western areas of Ethiopia, with projected above-average rainfall expected to yield a strong meher harvest beginning in October, as well as flooding in some areas.
As of late June, relief actors had distributed an estimated 35 percent of the approximately 20,200 metric tons (MT) planned for emergency seed interventions to assist 1.7 million agriculture-dependent households, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) remains concerned that seed procurement and distribution delays could cause farmers to miss the meher planting window.