UN: shortfall in donations for Chad relief puts 2 million at risk of hunger

FAO reports shortfall in Chad donations

ROME — A U.N. agency has warned that a dramatic shortfall in donations for Chad’s agriculture relief puts 2 million people at risk of hunger in the African nation.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said Tuesday that it has been able to mobilize only $2 million out of the $11.8 million that U.N agencies requested in November.

Chad has seen its cereal production fall sharply and its cattle die amid drought and pest infestations, according to the Rome-based agency. As a result, 2 million people are facing hunger.

The funding shortfall means that only a small part of the seeds and animal feed the agency had planned to distribute can be provided to farmers, according to FAO.