to strengthen the continent's ability to respond to a crisis, aggravated by rapid population growth and external factors, which placed ever-increas­ ing demands on agriculture and available land. It was imperative to recognize population as the parameter in pel icy planning and to ensure that priorities, production needs and life-styles were'selected in accordance with real national needs. 245. Calling on African and donor countries to provide resources for agri­ culture, he stressed that the problems were structural rather than transient and that their solutions required radical rethinking in terms of national development policies and internally coherent strategies. Although the drought in some East and Southern African countries had broken, he foresaw persistent food shortages in Mozambique, Ethiopia and the Sudan. Similarly, the situation in the Sahel zone remained a source of concern and the overall situation for 1985 was still deteriorating. He called upon the international community to provide an additional 900,000 tons of food aid, to speed up deliveries of supplies pledged and to take special steps to help in distributing cereal supplies. - 61 - 246. Food emergencies would continue in the region even if weather conditions improved, and he called on African countries to be more prepared to respond to such emergencies and to rehabilitate the agricultural sector. FAO had discussed with donors the funding of 194 projects costing about $108 million which it had undertaken in close collaboration with the countries affected. Finally, he continued that FAO assistance would continue in the future. 247. The President of the World Food Council expressed deep concern at the hunger and malnutrition which continued to affect a large part of the African continent. While food was more plentiful than a year earlier, there was more hunger: hence the hunger was due to lack of access of 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the issues of food shortages, hunger, and malnutrition in Africa, which are exacerbated by rapid population growth, drought, and external factors. The text also mentions the need for agricultural development, food aid, and rehabilitation of the agricultural sector. These themes suggest that the text is primarily concerned with the agricultural and humanitarian aspects of the issue.

**Category**
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Humanitarian aid and relief