Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
- Below-average 2025 cereal production due to a poor performance of the 2025B cropping season
- Prices of maize and beans above their year‑earlier levels in May 2025
- Concerns for the food security situation in western areas
Below-average 2025 cereal production due to a poor performance of the 2025B cropping season
Harvesting of the 2025B main season crops, accounting for about 50 percent of the yearly crop production, is almost complete. The February-May main rainy season was characterized by an erratic temporal distribution of precipitation. Cumulative rainfall amounts in February and March were up to 40 percent below‑average, affecting crop germination and development. Although precipitation amounts were above‑average in April and May, damage to crops in several areas was irreversible, and the 2025B crop production is expected at a below‑average level.
The harvest of the 2025A season crops, representing about 35 percent of the yearly crop production, was concluded last January. The September‑to‑December 2024 short‑rains season was characterized by abundant cumulative rainfall amounts which boosted yields, and crop production is estimated at above‑average levels.
The overall cereal production in 2025 (including an average output of the minor 2018C season crops, to be harvested between August and September in marshlands and irrigated areas and accounting for about 15 percent of the yearly crop production) is tentatively forecast at about 788 000 tonnes, 5 percent below the average of the previous five years.
Prices of maize and beans above their year‑earlier levels in May 2025
Prices of maize declined by 40-55 percent between December 2024 and May 2025, as 2025A crops increased market availability. Despite these significant declines, prices in May remained 10-15 percent above their year‑earlier levels, mainly due to the continuous depreciation of the national currency, which inflates agricultural production and transport costs.
Similarly, in May 2025, prices of beans, an important staple in the local diet, were 8-12 percent higher year‑on‑year.
Concerns for the food security situation in western areas
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, about 1.2 million people (10 percent of the analysed population) were estimated to face IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) levels of acute food insecurity between January and March 2025. The highest prevalence of food insecurity is reported in the western Congo Nil Ridge and Imbo Plains livelihood zones, where 15 percent of the population was estimated to be in IPC Phase 3, due to the lingering impact on livelihoods of the overflow of Lake Tanganyika in mid‑2024.
The main drivers of food insecurity are livelihood losses due to climatic shocks and protracted macroeconomic challenges.
There are concerns for the food security situation of about 92 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), mainly displaced by natural disasters, and for about 104 000 refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have limited livelihood opportunities and mainly rely on humanitarian assistance.