Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
- Favourable soil moisture levels for 2024 main maize crop
- Gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to increase in 2025
Favourable soil moisture levels for 2024 main maize crop
The main food crops are cassava, plantains, maize and groundnuts. Sowing of the 2024 main season maize crops, to be harvested from late December, started in July and it was completed by early October 2024. According to estimates based on satellite data, precipitation amounts have been well distributed since the beginning of the cropping season, benefitting soil moisture levels. Sowing of the 2025 secondary season maize crops is expected to begin in Janurary 2025.
GDP forecast to increase in 2025
Agriculture contributes to a small portion (less than 1 percent) of the national GDP, reflecting the predominance of the petroleum industry. The GDP increased by about 3 percent in 2024, mainly due to a surge in crude oil prices. In 2025, the national economy is forecast to grow by about 2.7 percent. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the annual inflation is estimated at 2.1 percent in 2024 and it is forecast at 2.2 percent in 2025, mainly reflecting easing domestic food prices.