- Food security conditions at the national level remain satisfactory. Although annual production was six percent higher than the five-year average, moderate food insecurity exists in the northeastern and central areas of the country due to lack of access to food at the household level constrained by low incomes and increased food prices. The Rapid Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) conducted by the Food Security Information Team (FSIT) indicates that there has been a five–fold increase in the food insecure population from 279,607 people in March 2009 to 1.5 million people in September 2009. Food needs for this population are expected to be met through free and subsidized food distributions of in–country food stocks by the government.
- Households most affected by the food insecurity include pastoralists in the northern and northeastern regions, marginal crop farmers in the lowland areas of Kilimanjaro, Tanga and Arusha, crop producers in the Central zone, cassava producers in Lake Victoria, and banana producers affected by crop diseases in Kagera region.
- Vuli rains have started and land preparation and crop planting activities in most parts of the bimodal areas are ongoing, thus providing relief to both marginal crop farmers and to casual laborers dependent on income from agricultural activities in the lowland areas of Kilimanjaro, Tanga, and Arusha. Land preparations have also begun in most parts of unimodal areas where msimu rains are due to start in mid-November. This has increased agricultural labor opportunities and hence incomes for labor dependent households. In the central zone, food security is expected to improve with the rains anticipated in mid-December, due to increased agricultural labor opportunities and income from milk sales.
