WFP spokesperson Peter Transburg said 350 000 people in seven provinces needed food aid.
"We are $8.5m short for our programmes until April, we are talking to donors and if we don’t get new contributions we will definitely be forced to cut the ration and discontinue the relief assistance," Transburg told Reuters.
The money is needed to buy 10 840 tons of cereals to supplement household reserves and help families cope with high food prices from January until the next harvest in April/May.
Farm output in central Sofala province is also under threat from locusts which have invaded the area in the last few days, worsening the impact of recent heavy rains.
"There are swarms of locusts destroying horticulture and other crops which survived the flooding last year, a fact which could worsen food security of local farmers this time when heavy rains are already posing a concern," said Joao Ribeiro, director of the National Institute of Disaster Management.
Mozambique is prone to natural disasters such as droughts, floods and cyclones. On Monday, authorities said torrential rains had killed 25 people in central areas in the last two weeks and that flooding could devastate the region by March.
Thousands of homes have been destroyed while roads, bridges and electricity pylons have been damaged in four provinces.
In early 2007, floods in central Mozambique killed 45 people and left 285 000 homeless, and cyclone Favio displaced a further 140 000 people. – News24
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