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UN food firm tries to find $400 mln to feed millions in southern Africa

The U.N. World Food Program ( WFP) requires $400 million to feed millions of individuals in Southern Africa following a drought that plunged parts of the region into cravings, the program said on Wednesday.

The WFP informed it required immediate funding for 6 months to support dry spell relief in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, after harvests fell as a result of an El Niño-induced drought that has affected 4.8 million individuals.

El Niño, a weather phenomenon that disrupts wind patterns and warms the temperature level in parts of the Pacific Ocean, can impact crop yields by minimizing rain levels.

It's fair to state this will most likely be the most significant El Niño action we have actually ever carried out in Southern Africa, WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri informed .

About 70% of the Southern African population that counts on rain-fed agriculture had their harvests erased by lack of rains, Phiri included.

Phiri said the WFP, which also supplies money payments for starving neighborhoods, is aiming to purchase grain from outdoors markets.

In August in 2015 WFP spent $14 million to support communities in Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, Phiri stated.

Succeeding droughts in the region have triggered decreasing grain stocks, forcing afflicted nations like Zimbabwe to obtain grain abroad.

A group of personal millers in Zimbabwe are planning to import 1.4 million metric tonnes of maize from Brazil, Argentina and other nations to assist address hunger.

In Zimbabwe Financing Minister Mthuli Ncube said the government will get a $32 million insurance coverage payment for drought remedy for the African Union Environment Agency.

Ncube said part of the financing will be utilized as money transfers for vulnerable neighborhoods with some going to humanitarian agencies to supply support for procuring food.