New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) India on Saturday sent 1,000 metric tonnes of rice as part of humanitarian aid to drought-hit Malawi.

The Southeast African nation has been reeling under dry spells that caused widespread damage to crops and negatively affected food production.

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"Humanitarian assistance in solidarity with the people of Malawi. A consignment of 1000MT rice departed today for Malawi, to address the consequences of the severe drought caused by El Nino phenomenon," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'.

In March, the government in Malawi declared a state of disaster following drought in 23 of the country's 28 districts.

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The dry spells have severely crippled the country's food supplies.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)