south sudan – sudan: vital oilfield takes centre-stage in dispute

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mobilize local funds to deepen the gains recorded in the past 10 years. Participants included serving and past heads of state, development partners, the civil society groups, organised private sector and the media. The Congress was organised to mark the 10th anniversary of NEPAD (New Partner- ship for Africa’s Development) and had the theme: ‘‘Africa’s Decade of Change: Acceler- ating NEPAD Implementation through Domestic Financing.’’ Some participants, including Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, expressed the belief that as a way of ending over-dependence on external funds to fund NEPAD projects, huge domestic savings could be mobilized to finance infrastructure development. (PANA 28 3) COOPERATION AND TRADE AFRICA – TAIWAN President Visits Africa The aim is to cement ties with its allies. President Ma Ying-jeou on April 15th said in Swaziland, the final stop of his 12-day trip to Africa, that his three- nation visit had helped him gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s dip- lomatic allies on the continent, Taipei Times reported (17 4). The President had previously visited Burkina Faso and The Gambia. It was the Taiwanese leader’s first tour since he assumed office in 2008 and the trip was aimed at cementing ties between the Asian island nation and its African allies. President Ma described it as ‘‘worthwhile’’. Together with Sao Tome e Principe, the three countries are among 23 nations worldwide which recognise Taiwan since its 1949 split with China. Sao Tome e Principe caused a stir a few days before the start of the tour when it announced its President would not be at hand to receive President Ma. Manuel Pinto da Costa was said to be visiting Cuba at the same time. The Taiwanese then dropped Sao Tome e Principe from the schedule but maintained that there was no problem with the relationship between the two countries, according to Africa Review (8 4). The matter fol- lowed reports of Sao Tome e Principe‘s recent participation at an economic forum China hosted in Macau for Por- tuguese-speaking nations. AP reported (6 4) Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokesman James Chang as insisting that ties between the two nations were ‘‘stable,’’ pointing out that business people from the West African nation and not government officials attended the Macau meeting. A number of African countries, includ- ing Gambia and Senegal, have in the past switched allegiance from one of the two neighbours to the other. On the economic front, Taiwan should ‘‘conditionally provide assistance’’ to its diplomatic allies in Africa because their economies are still developing and need foreign aid, Ma said. ‘‘We should try to make others feel we are an international asset rather than a liability’’ by contributing to interna- tional assistance programmes in accor- dance with the norms set by the Organisation for Economic Co-opera- tion and Development,’’ Ma said. Taiwan donated 300 notebook com- puters worth US$300,000 to the south- east African kingdom, Ambassador to Swaziland Peter Tsai announced. It has also donated $2.1m (1.6m euros) to Burkina Faso to help it address problems caused by the influx of 40,000 refugees from Mali (see p. 19479) and $3m to Gambia to help deal with a food crisis. (Sources as referenced in text) SOUTH SUDAN – SUDAN Vital Oilfield Takes Centre-stage in Dispute Southern forces seize their rival’s main oil field, dealing another blow to an economy mired in crisis. South Sudan’s army vowed on April 17th to hold their positions in a con- tested oil field seized from Khartoum’s army, one week after the outbreak of bitter fighting that has raised fears of a wider war. Despite air strikes and a reported coun- ter-attack by Khartoum’s Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) to retake the dis- puted Heglig oil field, the South’s Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) said it would not withdraw from the battle zone, AFP reports (17 4). The hostilities are the worst since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in July 2011, and world powers have con- demned the fighting, as fears grow that clashes could spread beyond the current border conflict. Fighting broke out in March between Khartoum and Juba in the Heglig oil field – key to Sudan’s already strug- gling economy, as it supplied around half of its oil production – before an escalation of violence on April 10th. Correspondents say Sudan, having lost most of its oil when the south seceded, will not tolerate losing any more. The South has reportedly placed tanks and artillery around oil infrastructure in Heglig, which both sides say belongs to them. Southern army spokesman Philip Aguer said Khartoum had damaged wells as they sought to dislodge Southern troops by aerial bombardment. Khartoum has launched a wave of air raids on Southern border areas, killing several civilians and hitting a UN peacekeeper base on the 16th in May- om, in the South’s oil-producing Unity state. Khartoum seeks the South’s uncondi- tional withdrawal from Heglig. But Juba has said it will not pull back unless Khartoum removes its troops from the contested Abyei region nearby, among other conditions. Economic Lifeline Questions are being raised in Khar- toum over how easily Southern forces managed to seize Sudan’s main oil field, dealing another blow to an econ- omy mired in crisis. Leaders on both sides have exchanged angry rhetoric – accusing each other of starting the violence and of wanting war – with Khartoum’s parliament on the 16th voting the government of South Sudan an enemy, a move dis- missed by Juba. The oilfield area is vital to Sudan’s economy, and until April 8th it was firmly under Khartoum’s control. A 2009 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling had removed it from the dis- puted Abyei region and placed it in South Kordofan in Sudan – according to the north-south border set in 1956 at independence. Several international bodies have condemned South Sudan for taking control of Heglig the AU’s Peace and Security Council called it an ‘‘illegal occupation’’, sug- gesting it is accepted fairly widely internationally that Heglig is part of Sudan. In a recent letter to the UN Security Council, South Sudan’s acting deputy representative said her country discov- ered in March that Sudan was building a new tie-in pipeline from Heglig oil fields in an attempt to siphon oil from Unity State in South Sudan. Meanwhile several news agencies reported on April 17th that UN Secre- tary-General Ban Ki-moon had expressed alarm over reports of a buildup of militia in Abyei as Sudan and South Sudan appeared to edge clo- ser to full-blown conflict. March 16th–April 15th 2012 Africa Research Bulletin – 19475 A B C Ó Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.

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Page 1: SOUTH SUDAN – SUDAN: Vital Oilfield Takes Centre-stage in Dispute

mobilize local funds to deepen the gainsrecorded in the past 10 years. Participantsincluded serving and past heads of state,development partners, the civil societygroups, organised private sector and themedia.

The Congress was organised to mark the10th anniversary of NEPAD (New Partner-ship for Africa’s Development) and had thetheme: ‘‘Africa’s Decade of Change: Acceler-ating NEPAD Implementation throughDomestic Financing.’’ Some participants,including Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi,expressed the belief that as a way of endingover-dependence on external funds to fundNEPAD projects, huge domestic savingscould be mobilized to finance infrastructuredevelopment. (PANA 28 ⁄ 3)

COOPERATION ANDTRADE

AFRICA – TAIWANPresident Visits Africa

The aim is to cement ties with itsallies.

President Ma Ying-jeou on April 15thsaid in Swaziland, the final stop of his12-day trip to Africa, that his three-nation visit had helped him gain adeeper understanding of Taiwan’s dip-lomatic allies on the continent, TaipeiTimes reported (17 ⁄ 4). The Presidenthad previously visited Burkina Fasoand The Gambia.

It was the Taiwanese leader’s first toursince he assumed office in 2008 and thetrip was aimed at cementing tiesbetween the Asian island nation and itsAfrican allies. President Ma describedit as ‘‘worthwhile’’.

Together with Sao Tome e Principe, thethree countries are among 23 nationsworldwide which recognise Taiwan sinceits 1949 split with China. Sao Tome ePrincipe caused a stir a few days beforethe start of the tour when it announcedits President would not be at hand toreceive President Ma. Manuel Pinto daCosta was said to be visiting Cuba atthe same time. The Taiwanese thendropped Sao Tome e Principe from theschedule but maintained that there wasno problem with the relationshipbetween the two countries, according toAfrica Review (8 ⁄ 4). The matter fol-lowed reports of Sao Tome e Principe‘srecent participation at an economicforum China hosted in Macau for Por-tuguese-speaking nations.

AP reported (6 ⁄ 4) Taiwanese ForeignMinistry spokesman James Chang asinsisting that ties between the twonations were ‘‘stable,’’ pointing out thatbusiness people from the West African

nation and not government officialsattended the Macau meeting.

A number of African countries, includ-ing Gambia and Senegal, have in thepast switched allegiance from one ofthe two neighbours to the other.

On the economic front, Taiwan should‘‘conditionally provide assistance’’ toits diplomatic allies in Africa becausetheir economies are still developing andneed foreign aid, Ma said.

‘‘We should try to make others feel weare an international asset rather than aliability’’ by contributing to interna-tional assistance programmes in accor-dance with the norms set by theOrganisation for Economic Co-opera-tion and Development,’’ Ma said.

Taiwan donated 300 notebook com-puters worth US$300,000 to the south-east African kingdom, Ambassador toSwaziland Peter Tsai announced. Ithas also donated $2.1m (1.6m euros)to Burkina Faso to help it addressproblems caused by the influx of40,000 refugees from Mali (seep. 19479) and $3m to Gambia to helpdeal with a food crisis. (Sources asreferenced in text)

SOUTH SUDAN –SUDANVital Oilfield Takes Centre-stagein Dispute

Southern forces seize their rival’smain oil field, dealing another blowto an economy mired in crisis.

South Sudan’s army vowed on April17th to hold their positions in a con-tested oil field seized from Khartoum’sarmy, one week after the outbreak ofbitter fighting that has raised fears of awider war.

Despite air strikes and a reported coun-ter-attack by Khartoum’s SudanArmed Forces (SAF) to retake the dis-puted Heglig oil field, the South’sSudan Peoples Liberation Army(SPLA) said it would not withdrawfrom the battle zone, AFP reports (17 ⁄ 4).

The hostilities are the worst since SouthSudan’s independence from Sudan inJuly 2011, and world powers have con-demned the fighting, as fears grow thatclashes could spread beyond the currentborder conflict.

Fighting broke out in March betweenKhartoum and Juba in the Heglig oilfield – key to Sudan’s already strug-gling economy, as it supplied aroundhalf of its oil production – before anescalation of violence on April 10th.Correspondents say Sudan, having lost

most of its oil when the south seceded,will not tolerate losing any more.

The South has reportedly placed tanksand artillery around oil infrastructurein Heglig, which both sides say belongsto them. Southern army spokesmanPhilip Aguer said Khartoum haddamaged wells as they sought todislodge Southern troops by aerialbombardment.

Khartoum has launched a wave of airraids on Southern border areas, killingseveral civilians and hitting a UNpeacekeeper base on the 16th in May-om, in the South’s oil-producing Unitystate.

Khartoum seeks the South’s uncondi-tional withdrawal from Heglig. ButJuba has said it will not pull backunless Khartoum removes its troopsfrom the contested Abyei regionnearby, among other conditions.

Economic Lifeline

Questions are being raised in Khar-toum over how easily Southern forcesmanaged to seize Sudan’s main oilfield, dealing another blow to an econ-omy mired in crisis.

Leaders on both sides have exchangedangry rhetoric – accusing each other ofstarting the violence and of wantingwar – with Khartoum’s parliament onthe 16th voting the government ofSouth Sudan an enemy, a move dis-missed by Juba.

The oilfield area is vital to Sudan’seconomy, and until April 8th it wasfirmly under Khartoum’s control. A2009 Permanent Court of Arbitrationruling had removed it from the dis-puted Abyei region and placed it inSouth Kordofan in Sudan – accordingto the north-south border set in 1956at independence. Several internationalbodies have condemned South Sudanfor taking control of Heglig – theAU’s Peace and Security Councilcalled it an ‘‘illegal occupation’’, sug-gesting it is accepted fairly widelyinternationally that Heglig is part ofSudan.

In a recent letter to the UN SecurityCouncil, South Sudan’s acting deputyrepresentative said her country discov-ered in March that Sudan was buildinga new tie-in pipeline from Heglig oilfields in an attempt to siphon oil fromUnity State in South Sudan.

Meanwhile several news agenciesreported on April 17th that UN Secre-tary-General Ban Ki-moon hadexpressed alarm over reports of abuildup of militia in Abyei as Sudanand South Sudan appeared to edge clo-ser to full-blown conflict.

March 16th–April 15th 2012 Africa Research Bulletin – 19475

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� Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.

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Sudan said on April 17th the cost of anall-out war with South Sudan wouldnot deter it from recapturing Heglig,and that newly tapped oilfields in westKordofan, in Darfur and in the statesof White Nile and Blue Nile would helpto sustain its struggling economy.

Some analysts believe the outcome ofthe escalating border fighting will bedown to which faltering economy col-lapses first, rather than by military fire-power. The recent fighting over oilpayments and territory has severelyimpacted on the combined crude out-put of both countries.

As dollars become scarce and the SouthSudanese pound weakens, petrol sta-tions are struggling to pay foreign sup-pliers who truck in fuel for a premiumfrom Kenya and Uganda. South Sudanhas no refineries.

Motorists in South Sudan queued forhours on April 15th to try to buy pet-rol as stations ran dry due to a lack ofdollars. South Sudan claims it hasenough reserves to hold out for a longtime, but the dollar shortage is drivingup the cost of imports, putting a strainon the economy. It needs to importnearly everything from abroad includ-ing basic food items and fuel. (Sourcesas referenced in text) No quick end to oil row

p. 19439

Refugee Crisis

Aid agencies are struggling to keep upwith the food and water needs of over37,000 people in Jamam refugee campwho have fled bombardment and vio-lence in Sudan’s Blue Nile State.

Daudi Makamba, a water expert withOxfam, says the agency faces a hugechallenge to provide enough water asboreholes have collapsed, waterholesare dry, and it lacks the means to truckmore than the current 160,000 litresfrom the remaining three boreholesaround 30 km away.

Oxfam is urging donors to ramp upsupport now, warning that it will bethree times more expensive when therains come and block off roads; short-ages could endanger people’s lives.

‘‘This is going to cause a lot of healthproblems and I’m afraid that we willlose a lot of people, especially if rainsflood this black cotton soil,’’ AndrewOmale, Oxfam’s emergency coordinatorat the camp said.

‘‘The international community has notdone enough... it has not focused onthis emergency. These people startedcoming here in November. Up to nowwe have not received enough supportto help the refugees here in Jamam,’’he said.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) whichis providing over 130,000 litres of watera day to the camp, has also appealedfor aid to be ramped up, and morewater and sanitation partners.

Aid agencies expect another 40,000when food and water in Blue Nile runsout.

Over the past few weeks refugees flee-ing violence in parts of Sudan andSouth Sudan have been arriving in Ka-kuma refugee camp in northwesternKenya in large numbers, and aid agen-cies fear the camp’s capacity couldsoon be exceeded. Kakuma was initiallydesigned to accommodate 100,000 peo-ple, and currently accommodates some91,000, according to the UN RefugeeAgency (UNHCR).

‘‘Since the military clashes began, 500–800 refugees from both Sudan andSouth Sudan have been streaming intoKakuma every week over the last fewweeks,’’ said Martin Pepela, refugeeprogramme manager for local NGO,Refugee Consortium of Kenya.

UNHCR has begun talks with the Ken-yan government on the setting up of anew refugee camp capable of hosting100,000 people.

One source of refugees is SouthSudan’s Jonglei State. At least 140,000people have been affected by inter-eth-nic conflict there, and some civilianshave fled across the border to Kenya.Some of those now in Kakuma fledfrom South Kordofan and Blue Nile.(IRIN humanitarian news agency 3,5 ⁄ 4)

South Sudan – Sudan

IN BRIEFAfrica – IFC: IFC, a member of the WorldBank Group, launched a risk-sharing facilityon April 2nd with BNP Paribas (Suisse) SAthat will improve access to finance for the

agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.The programme will enable the increasedproduction of export commodities—includ-ing cashews, cocoa, and coffee—to spurtrade and economic development in low-income countries such as Burundi, Coted’Ivoire, and Uganda. It will also help boostthe availability of critical cereals like corn,rice, and wheat to promote local food secu-rity. (African Press Organisation ⁄ IFC 2 ⁄ 4)Angola - Cape Verde: Angola is to provideCape Verde with 7.500 hectares of land forfarming, within the framework of their bilat-eral relations. (PANA 23 ⁄ 3)Spain has earmarked Euros (€) 500m for itsbusiness people interested in investing inAngola. The money was provided by publicand private institutions linked to the finan-cial sector. The economic and commercialadviser at the Spanish Embassy in Luanda,Manuel Sanchez Melero said that in 2011,trade between the two countries was esti-mated at between €800m and 1bn comparedto €750m in 2010. (PANA 27 ⁄ 3)Egypt – Jordan: An explosion on April 9thhit a pipeline in the Al-Midan area close tothe north Sinai town of Al-Arish which sup-plies Egyptian gas to Israel and Jordan,marking the 14th such attack since 2011,security officials said. The pipeline had notbeen operational since the last attack onMarch 5th. (� AFP 9 ⁄ 4)Gabon – Australia: President Ali BongoOndimba arrived in Australia on March29th, the first ever state visit of a GabonesePresident to the country, where he presentedthe Emerging Gabon development strategy,based on opening up the country’s economy– requiring a diversification of its partners –and industrialising the national economy.Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillardassured him Australia was willing to supportGabon, and share its world famous miningexpertise in a bid to strengthen local capac-ity.

President Bongo placed much emphasis onthe mining sector. ‘‘We have oil, but this isnot enough to support our development. Weare looking to diversify, and we believe thatmining could be the driving force behindGabon’s growth. That is why we are here.We are looking for strong long-term part-ners to work with us on local mining andprocessing projects.’’ (Office of the Presidentof Gabon 2 ⁄ 4)Guinea – Sierra Leone: The two neighbourshave agreed on the outer limits of their con-tinental shelves in a bid to prevent futuredisputes over fishing and oil discoveries. Theagreement, set up with assistance from Nor-way, establishes the continental shelvesbeyond 200 nautical miles from the shoresof the west African nations and involveseverything that can be found on the seabed,including precious metals, fish and oil. (�AFP 27 ⁄ 3)Libya – Italy: Italian police on March 28thseized assets worth €1.1bn from the familyof Muammar Gaddafy, at the request of theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) in theHague. The ICC hopes the funds may beused to compensate victims of the Gaddafyregime.

Most of the wealth was in the form of share-holdings, including stakes in Italian bank

Refineries

Port Sudan

Khartoum

Heglig

REPUBLICOF SUDAN

ERITREA

ETHIOPIAABYEI

SOUTHSUDAN

Juba

To Lamu, Kenya

CENTRALAFRICAN REPUBLIC

DR CONGO

Source: Drilling Info International

CHAD

RedSea

Oil producing areasOil fields

PipelinesProposed pipelines

Continental Developments19476 – Africa Research Bulletin

A B C

� Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.

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Unicredit, the Juventus football team andthe energy giant Eni. Since the fall of Gad-dafy, Rome has rebuilt strong business tieswith Tripoli’s new rulers, and Eni remainsthe biggest foreign oil producer in Libya.(The Independent 29 ⁄ 3)

South Africa – Sahel: South Africa is to lendhumanitarian assistance including emergencyfood to four Sahelian countries: Mali, Niger,Mauritania and Chad. (BuaNews 21 ⁄ 3)

Zimbabwe – China: The two governments onApril 5th signed economic and technologicalcooperation agreements worth Yuan 1.141bn(US$180m). (Xinhua news agency, Beijing6 ⁄ 4)

ECONOMIC TRENDS

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICOF CONGO

Watchdogs Lose Seats

A lack of critical voices has seriousimplications for the environment andexchequer.

DRC is on its way to becoming a sig-nificant oil-producer, providing moreopportunities for corruption and otherenrichment to the government and itsfriends. The National Assembly, electedin November amid widespread accusa-tions of fraud, has lost several impor-tant voices which were not afraid tospeak out about corruption and incom-petence over natural resources.

This has serious implications for theenvironment as well as the exchequeras oil prospects are being confirmed inthe east, especially in Virunga NationalPark, which the United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and Cultural Organisa-tion (UNESCO) lists as a WorldHeritage site. Virunga has exceptionalwildlife habitats and is home to theendangered mountain gorilla.

The French oil major, Total, hasbought shares in Sacoil of South Africa,whose exploration permits include Vir-unga. In early February, PresidentJoseph Kabila Kabanga authorised aer-ial magnetic surveys in Block Five ofthe Lake Albert Basin, which coverspart of the Park, where Britain’s SocoInternational has been working. Envi-ronment Minister Jose Endundo Bo-nonge suspended all oil explorationactivity in the park in March 2011,except for aerial surveys. UNESCO isworried nonetheless and declared thatpermitting the surveys, agreed in a 2007contract between the government andSoco, ‘only increases the vulnerabilityof the Virunga National Park’. Early inMarch 2012, two colonels and a majorfrom the Congolese military intelligenceservice entered the Park to preparesecurity for Soco’s proposed base atNyakakoma.

Also early in March, a team led by theDRC interim National Coordinator ofthe Extractive Industries TransparencyInitiative (EITI), Jeremy Mack Dumba,noted a disparity of US$70m betweenthe tax revenue for 2008 and 2009declared by the mining companies andthose declared by the state.

In the previous Parliament, such a dis-crepancy would have attracted com-ments from lawmakers such asModeste Bahati Lukwebo, but he losthis North Kivu seat to the currentSports and Youth Minister, ClaudeNyamugabo. Bahati Lukwebo saysNyamugabo bribed local officials of theCommission electorale nationale inde-pendante (CENI). The government willbe pleased to see the back of Bahati, anembarrassment when he headed theaudit sub-committee of Parliament’sEconomic and Financial Commissionand called for transparency in the saleof state mining assets to Israeli busi-nessman Dan Gertler.

Another missing watchdog is indepen-dent MP Kashemukunda KasongoNumbi. CENI officials are suspected ofensuring his defeat in Kabongo,Katanga Province, at the hands of oneof late president Laurent-Desire Kabi-la’s daughters, Jaynet Kabila Kyungu.

Kasongo-Numbi, a geologist and for-mer diplomat, fought keenly in Parlia-ment to ensure that DRC got its fairshare of offshore oil, arguing thatthe question should be referred tothe appropriate international tribunal.He claimed that Angola had wrongfullytaken control of the area outside thetwelve-mile limit, adding that PrimeMinister Adolphe Muzito’s governmenthad allowed Angola free access to upto 2bn barrels of DRC’s oil.

Parliamentary oversight is alsorestricted by the decision of the Unionpour la democratie et le progres social(UDPS) not to take up its 42 seats.Nevertheless, at least one outspokenMP remains. Rene Isekemanga Nkekawas elected as an independent in Equa-teur Province. He was the oil ministerwho, in March 2009, accused Angolaof pumping several hundred thousandbarrels of oil a day from deep watersthat he regarded as Congolese. For

declaring that the borders would inevi-tably be redrawn in Congo’s favour,Kabila sacked him in 2010.

Some critical voices remain in the Senate,the upper house which was not involvedin November’s polls. One is former Gec-amines engineer David Mutamba Dibwe,President of the Senate Mines Commis-sion. This Commission reported in 2009that mining would never contribute topublic finances so long as the currentpublic management remained.

The report added that bad managementwas responsible for the country seeingno benefit whatsoever from exception-ally high metal prices in 2007–08. LikeJeremy Dumba just recently, the reportnoted significant disparities betweenwhat the Treasury declared it hadreceived in tax and what the companieshad paid. Another thorn in the govern-ment’s flesh is the MLC Senator Ra-phael Siluvangi Lumba, who accusedthe government of being afraid to standup for the country against Angola overoffshore oil. (Africa Confidential 30 ⁄ 3)

DROUGHT AND FAMINEA Race Against Time

‘‘It is a matter of life or death formillions who are on the brink.’’

Hunger has come again to the Saheland the driest months of the year areapproaching (p. 19441, 19405). Morethan 15m people in the Sahel aredirectly affected by worsening foodshortages and malnutrition.

By late March this included: 5.4m peo-ple in Niger (35% of the population),3m in Mali (20%), around 1.7m inBurkina Faso (10%), around 3.6m inChad (28%), 850,000 in Senegal (6%),713,500 in The Gambia (37%) and700,000 in Mauritania (22%).

The looming crisis is due to a combina-tion of factors, including drought;sharp declines in cereal production andhigh grain prices; a shortage of fodderfor livestock; a reduction in remittancesfrom migrant workers in severalcountries; environmental degradation;displacement; chronic poverty com-pounded by chronic crisis, conflict andcivil war.

Drought in West Africa

The Food and Agricultural Organisa-tion (FAO) is calling for at least

Policy and Practice

March 16th–April 15th 2012 Africa Research Bulletin – 19477

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� Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.