Food crisis may affect 400,000

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Over 400,000 people in 468 subdistricts in East Nusa Tenggara could be affected by a food crisis following a prolonged drought and harvest failures in the province, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The local stock of staple foods rice and corn is only sufficient for four months, said the head of the provincial Food Resiliency Body, Petrus Langoday.

Some residents are already beginning to rely on cassava and nuts because of rice shortages, said Petrus. He said the government had begun to distribute some 2,000 tons of rice to areas most in need of help. -- JP