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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an urgent appeal seeking US$50 million to support 4.66 million people across Ethiopia who are facing escalating food insecurity and severe threat to their livelihoods as the country braces for the impacts of a forecast El Niño event.
The intervention plan, spanning from June 2026 to March 2027, targets 114 high-vulnerability woredas where anticipatory actions have been activated against drought including regions in Afar, Amhara, northern Somali, and Tigray alongside flood-prone zones in southern Somali, South Ethiopia, and South West Ethiopia.
The emerging climate disruption poses an acute risk to Ethiopia’s agriculture-dependent economy. The June-to-September Kiremt rains account for more than 70 percent of national crop production and directly sustain the livelihoods of millions of rural households.
According to the FAO, forecast below-average rainfall coupled with above-average temperatures will accelerate the loss of soil moisture, hinder crop establishment, lower yield potentials, limit water and pasture availability, and cause severe stress on livestock health and production.
The forecast highlights a dual-threat climate scenario across different geographic zones:
- Drought Conditions: Expected across central, northern, northeastern, and eastern Ethiopia during the main Kiremt season due to suppressed rainfall.
- Flood Risks: Anticipated across southern and southeastern lowland areas between October and December, where intense rainfall threatens to submerge agricultural land, damage vital productive assets, and destroy rural infrastructure.
The FAO underscored that these impending climate shocks compound an already fragile socio-economic and humanitarian context marked by recurrent droughts, floods, land degradation, and ongoing conflict-related disruptions.
Citing data from Ethiopia’s 2024–2025 Demographic and Health Survey, the FAO noted stark baseline vulnerabilities:
- 82 percent of rural households in Ethiopia depend directly on agriculture for their primary livelihoods.
- 40 percent of children under the age of five suffer from stunting.
- 5 percent of children under five suffer from wasting.
Without immediate funding and rapid anticipatory interventions, the FAO warned that agropastoral and pastoral communities face severe reductions in crop and livestock output, reduced food availability, and potential forced displacement. Timely resource deployment remains critical to safeguard agricultural production, protect household assets, and mitigate a worsening food security crisis across the region.
