By Sallieu S. Kanu
About 1.57 million people (20 percent of the analyzed population) in Sierra Leone were estimated to face acute food insecurity (CH Phase 3 [Crisis] and above) during the 2024 June to August lean season period, including about 31,000 people in CH Phase 4 (Emergency), according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, FAO, which was punished on December 11, 2024.
The ‘Global Information and Early Warning System on Food And Agriculture’, GIEWS, country brief indicates that the figure represents a ‘substantial deterioration compared to the same period in 2023, when about 1.18 million people (16 percent of the analysed population) were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance’. “The increase in the total number of acutely food insecure people is mostly due to high food and non‑food inflation, coupled with low household purchasing power,” the report shows.
“Concerns also exist for the food security situation of about 23 600 people affected by recent floods, whose livelihoods have been significantly disrupted.”
New CH estimates of the number of people facing acute food insecurity in the last quarter of 2024 are expected to be released by the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) in December 2024.
The report shows that despite suboptimal weather conditions in several areas, aggregate 2024 cereal production is forecast at 1.6 million tonnes, about 14 percent above the average of the previous five years.
The favourable production prospects mainly reflect the impact of enhanced and timely governmental support under the Feed Salone Strategy, launched in October 2023, which includes the provision of seeds and fertilizers as well as access to mechanization services, according to the report.