Ebola hampers food imports by West Africa; food security under threat

All the three countries in the region are heavily dependent on food imports, and labour shortage may hurt local food production as well The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz West Africa-The Dollar Business

The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) may lead to a food crisis soon due to disruption in intra-trade and cereal imports by the three countries. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the deadly EVD spreads through human-to-human transmission and is difficult to control. The chances of survival is a bleak 10-47% and there are concerns that it may have spread to several other countries across the world. To prevent a further outbreak, the WHO and the governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have declared emergencies which include the quarantine zones and restrictions on the movement of people at borders. Several flights and transport into the affected countries have been suspended and sea-port activity has declined significantly. These developments now threaten food security in the region, says the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). All the three countries are heavily dependent on food imports with people in some places spending almost 80% of their income only on food.

Source - FAO

The worst-affected is Liberia, which imports about 65% of its cereal requirements. Food supplies in Liberia have declined due to disruption of services at the Monrovia sea port and total rice stocks of about 36,000 tonnes can last only for a month, says the government. India is the main supplier of cereals for the region, accounting for over 90% of rice imports by Liberia. Food prices have shot up sharply in Guinea and Sierra Leone as well. Moreover, shortage of labour is likely to impact negatively on production and export of cash crops such as palm oil, cocoa and rubber this year. The WHO has said that it will review movement restrictions in the region soon. A representative of FAO told The Dollar Business that food security assessments are being planned, and a Crop and Food security Assessment (CFSAM) is due to take place in October 2014 in the three affected countries.

This article was published on September 4, 2014

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Sep 04, 2014 01:51 IST

Ebola hampers food imports by West Africa; food security under threat

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