KEY MESSAGES:
Households led by women are using more negative coping strategies.
Negative coping is also on the rise in parts of drought-affected central and southern regions.
Food prices are increasing as the poor harvest has failed to deliver sufficient supplies: maize prices are 70 to 130 percent higher than the three-year average.
SEASONAL FORECAST
Severe dryness during most of the growing season severely damaged crop development and has affected crop yields. This is the second year in a row of poor crop production: this year, production is set to be 12 percent lower than last year, when production was already 25 percent below the five-year average (from 2010 to 2014). This cumulative impact will bring the lean period forward and increase the food prices earlier and faster, as observed in this round of data collection. Source: WFP Seasonal Monitor