# El Niño weather extremes worsen food security in East Africa and Central America and threaten next season crops in Southern Africa and South America - Joint Research Centre

> The EU JRC's September ASAP assessment finds El Niño is worsening food insecurity in East Africa and Central America. Southern Africa, which harvested 43.4 million tonnes of cereals this year, faces projected historic rainfall deficits through December that threaten the 2026/27 planting season.

- Date: 2026-10-07 · published 2026-10-07T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region Southern Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/17047-el-nino-weather-extremes-worsen-food-security-in-east-africa-and-central
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Sorghum](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SORGHUM.md)

## Why it matters

Expected drought in Southern Africa and South America's next crops could tighten maize and other coarse grain supplies later in the season, supporting corn and feed prices.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bullish ▲
- SORGHUM: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2026-09-04 | [El Niño drives crop failure in Central America and East Africa and threatens the next season in Southern Africa, East Africa, Western South America, and Southeast Asia - Joint Research Centre](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17395-el-nino-drives-crop-failure-in-central-america-and-east-africa-and-threatens.md) | +0.5% | +1.9% |
| CORN | 2023-11-13 | [Ongoing El Nino forecast to bring dry conditions in Southern Africa, SE Asia, Central America and wet conditions in Eastern Africa - Agroportal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/33103-ongoing-el-nino-forecast-to-bring-dry-conditions-in-southern-africa-se-asia.md) | -0.5% | -1.7% |
| CORN | 2021-03-16 | [Weather woes persist for South American row crops - Grain Central](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47964-weather-woes-persist-for-south-american-row-crops-grain-central.md) | +11.3% | +13.1% |
| CORN | 2026-06-08 | [Agricultural production threatened by combination of El Niño and high input prices - Joint Research Centre](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18726-agricultural-production-threatened-by-combination-of-el-nino-and-high-input.md) | -0.9% | +0.5% |
| CORN | 2026-07-27 | [Heatwaves impact summer and winter crops - Joint Research Centre](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18282-heatwaves-impact-summer-and-winter-crops-joint-research-centre.md) | -2.5% | +2.0% |

## Sources

- joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu: https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/el-nino-weather-extremes-worsen-food-security-east-africa-and-central-america-and-threaten-next-2026-10-07_en

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.