The UN World Food Program (WFP) is trying to raise around $400 million to buy maize for Southern African countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, which have seen a significant drop in their grain harvests due to the El Niño phenomenon. The harvest in Zimbabwe was only 30% of the average annual volume, while in Zambia and Malawi, the grain crop was nearly destroyed. The WFP intends to purchase around 290 thousand tons of corn from Mexico and Ukraine to help meet the food needs of these countries.