Food security conditions in the region have continued to improve due to the above?normal long rains, as well as the good performance of the June-August meher season in Ethiopia and Sudan. Food security is likely to continue to improve in the northern and western parts of the region from October to December as main season harvests take place and prices of staple foods decline.
However, early forecasts for the October to December rains indicate the probability of below normal rains in the eastern sector of the region due to a moderate La Niña episode. Below- normal rains would begin to impact food security toward the end of the year for pastoralists in the eastern sector, and in early 2011 for households in marginal agricultural areas.
Prices of staple foods have declined slightly in most markets in the region, due to increased supplies from local harvests, macro-economic policies favoring imports, and food aid interventions in Djibouti and Southern Sudan. However, prices have increased in south and central Somalia due to increased insecurity, taxation, and suspension of food aid, and in Northern Sudan due to the peak of the lean season.