The rate of deterioration in the country’s food security situation has seen a steep curve over the past 2 years due to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global food crisis ignited by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Key findings of the February 2024 report indicate that 82 percent of the population are food insecure among which 18 percent of households are severely food insecure. This was an expected improvement from the last assessment conducted in the lean season, attributable to a relatively good harvest. Also, 68 percent of the surveyed households reported spending more than 75 percent of their total expenditure on food.
The Nutrition analysis shows a deterioration when compared with the data collected in the 2023 February and August FSMS; the Global Acute Malnutrition rates increased from 3.1 percent to 5 percent in February 2024.
The prices of staple food commodities, mirror the national macro-economic trends. Notably, the prices of both local and imported rice increased by 31 percent and 38 percent respectively from January 2023 to January 2024. The surge in the price of imported rice can be attributed to higher freight costs and the depreciation of the national currency against the United States Dollar. This situation is particularly alarming as household incomes remain stagnant in the face of rising expenses.
Increased input costs for agricultural production such as chemical fertilizers, improved seeds, farm tools, and high transportation costs to markets constitute the local factors that impact the income levels of smallholder farmers. Considering the nation’s economic dependence on the agricultural sector, which constitutes over half of its GDP, these stressors translate into increased food insecurity levels for most of Sierra Leoneans living in both rural and urban areas. However, the lack of alternate economic opportunities in rural regions also adds another dimension for households whose income source is smallholder farming.
