conservation farming and other good farming practices that have been proven effective in various countries; protect and preserve the core breeding herd (pregnant, lactating, dry productive female animals) of the vulnerable pastoral and agropastoral households in the affected pastoral areas; • Promote weather-index and other insurance schemes for managing climate risks; -- Irrigated fodder production: fodder seeds and associated inputs should be provided to communities with access to irrigated lands to produce fodder, increase availability and affordability of survival feeding; • Sustainable water management to address water use efficiency and productivity, and promote best practices for water use and conservation, including expansion of rainwater harvesting, water storage techniques, water reuse and irrigation efficiency. The rehabilitation of water points will be a focal issue in some countries. -- Restocking with small ruminants, vaccination against diseases, treatment and provision of verterinary and animal health services; • Assisting pastoralist, agro-pastoralists affected by drought through: -- Destocking weak animals through hygienic slaughter, providing meat and income to affected households; -- Survival feeding: provide survival feeding to FOOD SECURITY Compared to last year, the total number of food insecure population has increased by 31 per cent from 30.4 million in 2015/16 marketing year to 40 million in 2016/17 marketing year. The Angola, DRC, Mozambique and Tanzania. have used preliminary figures pending finalization of assessments. South Africa’s figure includes about 8 million people living in urban areas. The estimates for Mozambique cover only the central and Southern regions and for Madagascar, only the southern parts of the country. About half of the food insecure population (23 million) are said to be in need of emergency humanitarian assistance, which would require 1.7 million tonnes of emergency food assistance. While the April/May harvests is improving food access in the short term, food insecurity is likely to begin deteriorating by July, reaching its peak around October 2016 and lasting through March 2017. The combination of a poor previous agricultural season (2014-2015), an extremely dry early season (October-December 2015) and hot and drier than average conditions through mid-2016, indicate a scenario of extensive, regional-scale crop failure. In addition to reduced staple and cash crop production at the household level, further increases in staple food prices are likely to drive acute food insecurity. Table 1: Estimated Food Insecure Population During the 2016/17 Marketing Year Country Angola Botswana DRC Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mozambique Namibia South Africa* Swaziland Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe SADC 12 Marketing Year 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 367 190 5 860 872 200 000 5 445 000 514 000 6 395 448 725 519 665 000 28 936 7 318 639 223 055 508 089 350 000 42 100 14 547 022 160 989 1 141 214 53 629 1 287 937 24 151 852 272 502 245 000 243 474 12 871 320 88 511 1 618 795 74 804 1 390 000 22 763 406 1 972 993 270 000 74 711 13 625 930 115 713 1 472 127 62 842 1 668 000 26 750 473 1 855 163 212 000 778 504 13 798 024 289 920 828 063 209 498 2 206 924 28 413 726 2014/15 755 678 29 306 6 591 535 447 760 1 312 376 150 000 117 662 14 060 928 223 249 424 136 351 267 564 599 25 028 496 2015/16 2016/17 1 253 048 30 318 4 456 106 463 936 1 800 000 2 833 212 375 905 578 480 14 349 445 320 973 358 505 798 948 2 829 159 30 448 035 755 930 57 411 7 500 000 709 394 1 140 000 6 500 000 1 980 000 729 134 14 349 445 638 251 358 505 975 738 4 071 233 39 765 041 2016/17 vs 2015/16 (% change) -40% 89% 68% 53% 129% 427% 26% 0% 99% 0% 22% 44% 31% Table 1: Estimated Food Insecure Population During the 2016/17 Marketing Year Source: NVACs, SADC, Member States *Figures in blue are estimates awaiting the completion of assessments. The 2016/17 figure for Madagascar only for southern areas.