More than half of Malawi's population of 16 million needs food aid as a result of a severe drought, the government said Wednesday. Around 8.5 million people in the southern African nation will be affected by food shortfalls and hunger due to a lack of rainfall caused by the global El Nino weather phenomenon, agriculture minister George Chaponda told dpa, citing a new government study. He added that the dry conditions had decimated crops across the country. Statistics from the ministry of agriculture indicate that the country needs about 1,290,000 metric tons of the staple maize crop to avert the food crisis. President Peter Mutharika declared a state of national disaster on April 12 and has appealed to international donors for food aid.
