Millions of people in West Africa can only be saved from a major food crisis next year if aid preparations are stepped up, warns Oxfam.

Now is the time to invest in preventative measures

“Early indicators point to a food crisis in 2012, with people particularly at high risk in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad,” the agency says. “Now is the time to invest in preventative measures.

“Millions of people in West Africa could be protected from a serious food crisis”

A statement in Dakar went on: “Governments across the region should make sure people have money to buy food, receive animal feed for their livestock and emergency supplies are stocked away ready to be distributed”. Early warning systems have identified a range of factors contributing to the coming crisis.

“Low rainfall and water levels, poor harvests and lack of pasture, high food prices and a drop in remittances from migrants are all causing serious problems,” the charity says.

Cereal production is down compared to the five-year average, with Mauritania and Chad showing deficits of over 50 per cent compared to last year.

National food reserves are also dangerously low, while prices of some key cereals are up to 40 per cent higher than the five-year average.”

While evaluations are still ongoing to identify those most at risk, early reports suggest six million people in Niger and 2.9 million people in Mali live in areas vulnerable to the coming crisis.

In Mauritania 700,000 people – over one-quarter of the population – are reported to be at risk.

Burkina Faso and Chad are also in danger.

The statement from Oxfam followed a similar warning by the UN, which last week appealed for urgent action to save a million children facing malnutrition.

The Sahel is an arid transitional zone stretching south of the Sahara desert and extending from Africa’s Atlantic coast to the Red Sea.

According to Unicef, the most pressing needs are in the west African country of Niger, where 330,600 children under five are estimated to be at risk.

A day before the issuing of the statement by Oxfam, The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation also warned in a new study that corruption in land sales in the developing world was also hampering food security and economic growth.

The study, conducted with anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, found that weak governance has increased the likelihood of corruption in land tenure and administration, and is intensifying pressures on land use.

“Unprecedented pressures on landhave been created as new areas are cultivated, taken over by expanding urban centres or abandoned due to degradation, climate change and conflict,” the report said.

FAO assistant director general Alexander Mueller said secure access to land “is one of the keys to ensuring food security, social stability, investment, broad-based economic growth and sustainable development.”

The report also found that corruption in land correlated “strongly” with low gross domestic product per capita.

In the 69 countries surveyed for the study, more than one in every 10 people who contacted a land authority reported paying a bribe.

It also found that the rush to invest in biofuels as a way to mitigate climate change was one of the pressures affecting land use in many countries.

Key points

• High risk of famine in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad;

• Cereal production is down compared to the five-year average;

• Prices of some key cereals are up to 40 per cent higher than the five-year average;

• Reports suggest six million people in Niger and 2.9 million people in Mali live in areas vulnerable to the coming crisis.

• In Mauritania 700,000 people – over one-quarter of the population – are reported to be at risk;

• The most pressing needs are in the west African country of Niger, where 330,600 children under five are estimated to be at risk.