Attachments
2016/17 main season crops are developing normally
KEY MESSAGES
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Seasonally normal food access and livelihoods will enable most households to maintain typical food consumption patterns between June 2016 and January 2017, in line with Minimal/None (IPC Phase 1) acute food insecurity.
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Off-season harvests of palm nuts, cassava, plantains, pineapples and local vegetables are ongoing though they typically decrease between June and September. However, during this time period, food consumption will continue to be seasonally normal due to rice imports and sufficient cassava products (ex. gari, fufu) on local markets.
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Main season 2016/17 crops (upland rice, cassava, corn, peanuts beans, etc.) are growing normally, despite irregular rainfall over Liberia in April and May. Meanwhile, work related to swampland clearing for rice cultivation in July/August and the rehabilitation of tree crops (cocoa, coffee, rubber and palm) are providing poor households with daily labor contracts at seasonally normal levels.
Main rice harvests are expected to be average and start on-time in August and September. -
Along coastal areas, fish availability and incomes are currently below average due to atypically rough seas. Similarly, some rubber tappers have recently lost their jobs as local rubber production scaled down due to low international prices. For affected populations, these shocks are expected to negatively impact household purchasing power and food consumption, though households are still expected to meet minimum food requirements. A small number, making up less than 20 percent of the total population in affected zones, will face Stressed (IPC Phase 2) acute food insecurity.