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STORY: FAO / EL NIÑO THREATENS FOOD SECURITY OF MILLIONS
TRT: 3:03
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 22 JUNE 2026, ROME, ITALY / FILE
FILE - APRIL 2023, CHOLUTECA, HONDURAS
1.Drone shot, dry riverbank in Dry Corridor during the 2023-2024 El Niño cycle
FILE - 8 JANUARY 2026, SAR-E-POL PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
2. Pan left, mountains affected by drought
3. Med shot, herds walking on a dry mountain
4. Pan left, dry land in farmer's hands
FILE - 1-5 OCTOBER 2023, KAPOETA SOUTH COUNTY, SOUTH SUDAN
5. Close up, Michael Lokuru Kuri, 34, pastoralist, watching dry maize
6. Close up, Lokuru’s hands holding dry maize
22 JUNE 2026, ROME, ITALY
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer:
“What is particularly concerning to us is that all of this [El Niño] is occurring in the context of the already very high food insecurity in many parts of the world that are going to be affected by El Niño. And this is because of previous climate extremes. Many parts of the world have already been experiencing drought in recent times. It is also because of economic shocks, because of conflict, and also, more recently, the fuel and fertilizer crisis, as a result of the Middle East conflict [causing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz], which is driving up the price of producing food and the price of buying food on local markets. And so all of these factors are colliding, and we are really concerned that the El Niño is going to be therefore driving up food prices in the very same regions of the world that are already very affected.”
FILE - 15 APRIL 2026, JOWHAR, SOMALIA
8. Various shots, river embankment reinforcement as part of FAO-supported anticipatory actions in Somalia to prevent El Niño-induced flash floods.
22 JUNE 2026, ROME, ITALY
9. SOUNDBITE (English), Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer:
“Anticipatory action is actually quite a revolution in the domain of managing disasters. Because it is using the best of what science can offer in terms of predicting climate extremes, such as in the case of El Nino-driven drought and floods, to allow us to act before vulnerable people are affected. And in the case of drought, for example, from FAO’s perspective, that means securing and protecting food production of households against the incoming drought. This can be done by distributing, for instance, drought-tolerant varieties of certain crops so that families can still secure a harvest and not be left completely without any yields because of the drought.”
FILE - 17 JULIO 2025, SAN JUAN NONUALCO, LA PAZ, EL SALVADOR
10. Drone shot, Farmer working on field with cow under sun
11. Drone shot, Farmer working in maize field.
FILE - 21-22 OCTOBER 2024, MIFTA EL KHEIR, MAURITANIA
12. Drone shot, farmers walk on the desert
22 JUNE 2026, ROME, ITALY
13. SOUNDBITE (English), Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer:
“This is the first ever joint appeal of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). And it is really important that it is in the domain of anticipatory action, because it is an important statement that the two agencies are coming together and putting together their respective strengths to protect people against these incoming shocks, because, of course, El Niño has particularly important consequences for food production and agriculture.”
FILE - 21-22 OCTOBER 2024, MIFTA EL KHEIR, MAURITANIA
14. Drone shot, farmers walk on the desert
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warns that a new El Niño phase is likely to cause severe disruptions for millions of farmers and food producers in regions already affected by climate extremes and economic shocks, such as rising fuel and fertilizer prices linked to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. FAO calls for urgent anticipatory action to protect harvests and livelihoods and to reduce the need for costly humanitarian responses later.
With the onset of El Niño in early June, the upcoming weather patterns caused by this phenomenon are expected to be stronger than usual, causing drier conditions in southern Africa, parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, and parts of Asia, while also prompting floods and storms in the Horn of Africa and some regions in Asia. These extreme weather events can disrupt planting, growing seasons, harvests, pasture, and water availability.
The impacts that the El Niño cycle may cause are “particularly concerning” because they could further deteriorate food insecurity for millions of people in areas already impacted by conflict, extreme weather events and economic shocks, explained Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer.
SOUNDBITE (English), Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer:
“What is particularly concerning to us is that all of this [El Niño] is occurring in the context of the already very high food insecurity in many parts of the world that are going to be affected by El Niño. And this is because of previous climate extremes. Many parts of the world have already been experiencing drought in recent times. It is also because of economic shocks, because of conflict, and also, more recently, the fuel and fertilizer crisis, as a result of the Middle East conflict [causing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz], which is driving up the price of producing food and the price of buying food on local markets. And so all of these factors are colliding, and we are really concerned that the El Niño is going to be therefore driving up food prices in the very same regions of the world that are already very affected.”
FAO and other UN agencies have called for anticipatory actions designed to protect those most at risk before an El Niño-driven food crisis unfolds.
The work of the Organization in crisis contexts shows that anticipatory actions are a cost-effective way to protect vulnerable populations from shocks. This is supported by data and studies showing that, in previous humanitarian-crisis contexts, households receiving early support have been able to better cope with shocks than those who didn’t and had to rely on the usual humanitarian assistance that comes much later.
Anticipatory actions include cash assistance, the distribution of seeds of drought-tolerant and flood-resistant crop varieties, livestock protection measures, water harvesting and storage systems, flood-protection infrastructure such as river embankments, and the dissemination of early-warning information with tailored agricultural advice.
For the current El Niño, FAO have supported the construction of river embankments in Jowhar, Somalia, to reduce flood risks and prevent agricultural and livelihood losses as part of the RESTORE Project under the Jowhar Offstream Storage Programme (JOSP).
Evidence shows that every USD 1 invested in anticipatory action can create a return for farming families of more than USD 7 in avoided losses and added benefits, explained Dujanovic, who said that anticipatory actions are “a revolution in the domain of managing disasters.”
SOUNDBITE (English), Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer:
“Anticipatory action is actually quite a revolution in the domain of managing disasters. Because it is using the best of what science can offer in terms of predicting climate extremes, such as in the case of El Nino-driven drought and floods, to allow us to act before vulnerable people are affected. And in the case of drought, for example, from FAO’s perspective, that means securing and protecting food production of households against the incoming drought. This can be done by distributing, for instance, drought-tolerant varieties of certain crops so that families can still secure a harvest and not be left completely without any yields because of the drought.”
Last week, FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) launched their first-ever Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal, seeking USD 202 million to protect nearly nine million people from the potential impacts of El Niño across 22 high-risk priority countries.
The appeal focuses on 22 countries, balancing key considerations such as risks based on meteorological forecasts of El Niño and its possible impacts, historical weather patterns, agricultural calendars, existing levels of food insecurity and operational readiness.
The targeted countries are Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Philippines, Timor-Leste, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela.
The appeal shows that the two UN agencies are “putting together their respective strengths to protect people against the incoming shocks” of El Niño, said Dujanovic.
SOUNDBITE (English), Dunja Dujanovic, FAO senior emergency and rehabilitation officer:
“This is the first ever joint appeal of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). And it is really important that it is in the domain of anticipatory action, because it is an important statement that the two agencies are coming together and putting together their respective strengths to protect people against these incoming shocks, because, of course, El Niño has particularly important consequences for food production and agriculture.”
El Niño episodes typically occur every two to seven years and can last between nine and 12 months.
ENDS
