More than 1.2 million Zambians will require food assistance for the next eight months, a senior official told IRIN on Monday.

"We will need 118,335 mt of cereal to feed the people from 1 July in 27 districts," said Dominiciano Mulenga, national coordinator of Zambia's Disaster Management Unit, after a survey conducted by the Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC) was released. He added that the government was finalising an appeal for food aid.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), prolonged dry spells during the last growing season reduced crop yields by up to 90 percent in some districts.

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