Attachments
In Brief
According to the December assessment results, 33 percent of households are food insecure. In 2019,1 food insecurity levels in the country stood at 9.1 percent.*
Over the past four months, food security levels have remained above the 30 percent range. According to wholesale traders, prices of staple foods have decreased due to the release of food stocks into local markets, and the general food inflation rate started to fall in October.
Households turning to food-based and livelihoodbased coping strategies continue to be reported across the country. Nearly seven in ten households (68 percent) are adopting food-based coping strategies, and the majority of households are consuming less preferred food.
Food and fuel prices remain a prime concern for many households. Fifty-eight percent of households are purchasing food on credit.
Consumption of adequate diets remains low.
Thirty percent of households are facing insufficient food consumption, with 43 percent consuming limited portions.
Female-headed households continue to fare worse than male-headed households. Households in the estate and rural areas experienced higher levels of acute food insecurity than those in urban areas in December. Similar disparities can be found across income sources.
The ongoing lean season (November –January) is likely to further deteriorate the situation. A combination of factors could exacerbate food insecurity in the upcoming months during Maha cultivation less productivity , including import restrictions, vegetable production reductions due to monsoon effects such as flooding, high demand for food for the festive season, and the ongoing economic crisis.