Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
- Cereal production in 2015 recovered significantly from previous year’s Ebola‑affected level
- Prices of main staples generally stable
- In spite of significant improvement of food situation, about 420 000 people still need food assistance
Recovery in 2015 cereal production compared to previous year’s Ebola‑affected harvest
Harvesting of the 2015 main rice crop was completed in December. Rains and soil moisture were generally adequate during the cropping season, allowing satisfactory development of crops. Moreover, Sierra Leone was declared free of the Ebola virus transmission in the human population in November 2015. The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak had a serious impact on labour availability during last year’s cropping season. In spite of floods in some areas, which partly affected the production of rice and tubers, preliminary estimates indicate that 2015 cereal production increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year’s output. Production of rice, the main cereal grown in the country, is also estimated to have increased by 10 percent. Similarly, the cassava harvest increased significantly. In 2014, the EVD outbreak resulted in a serious shock to the agriculture and food sectors. Rice production declined by 8 percent compared to 2013. In particular, cereal production in Kailahun was substantially affected by the outbreak that started to spread when crops were being planted and grew during the crop maintenance period, and then expanded rapidly during the critical harvesting period for the staple rice, maize and cassava crops.