Sixteen Assessment Teams Dispatched to Belg producing and Pastoral Areas
Sixteen assessment teams drawn from Federal and Regional government offices, donors and NGOs were sent to Belg producing areas of the country to assess Belg performance.

According to a half day orientation given on June 22, the teams will conduct assessments in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations Nationalities & Peoples, Afar and Somali Regions. In the cropper areas the teams will assess Belg crop yield and land preparation activities and in pastoral areas the teams will assess the pasture, lands and water situations. The teams will discusses the situation with the residents, the wereda and zonal administrative bodies to identify areas that face food shortages and to conduct a detailed study of the number of people that will require food aid assistance.

According to the National Meteorological Authority and the DPPC Early Warning Department good rains in amount and distribution were received this year in most Belg producing areas. However, some Belg producing areas had dry spells of two to three weeks and some pastoral areas had received heavy rains and flooding. Therefore, the teams are expected to carry out an assessment on specified areas to determine the outcomes of these conditions.

The teams will participate 50 people drawn from the DPPC, regional government offices, the UN, NGOs and donors. The teams are expected to complete its task and return to Addis Ababa by July 6, 2005.