Reference Date: 19-January-2026

Maize production in 2025 estimated at below-average level

Harvesting of the 2025 maize crop, which is virtually the only cereal grown in the country, was completed last December. The rainy season, which typically extends from August to October, had a poor performance in 2025. Precipitation had an erratic spatial and temporal distribution and cumulative rainfall amounts were below the long-term average in most producing areas, affecting crop establishment and development. In several regions, drought conditions in October prevented crops from completing their growing cycle, with a negative impact on yields.

Abundant rainfall amounts in November and December had no impact on maize crops, but negatively affected yields of long cycle beans and horticultural crops.

Maize production in 2025 is preliminarily estimated at about 1 100 tonnes, nearly 40 percent below the already low average of the previous five years, reflecting the negative impact of the unfavourable weather conditions on crops as well as the reduction in the area planted. The reduction in plantings is part of a broader trend of abandonment of agricultural activities in some areas of the country, driven by erratic rainfall patterns, the high cost of agricultural labour in recent years, and youth emigration.

Prices of cereals near or above year‑earlier values

Retail prices of locally produced maize registered slight increases of up to 5 percent between October and December 2025. Retail prices of other key cereal staples, including imported wheat flour and rice, remained mostly stable during the same period. Prices of local maize and imported wheat flour were near their year-earlier levels in December 2025, while prices of imported rice were near their year-earlier values or up to 15 percent higher on a yearly basis in monitored markets.

About 37 800 people acutely food insecure between October and December 2025

According to the latest Cadre Harmonisé (CH) analysis, about 37 800 people (7 percent of the analysed population) were estimated to be facing acute food insecurity (CH Phase 3 [Crisis]) between October and December 2025. This is slightly below the 41 300 people (8 percent of the analysed population) estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance during the same period in 2024.

There are concerns about the food security situation of households affected by floods in 2025, which disrupted livelihoods and damaged critical infrastructures on the islands of São Vicente, Santo Antão (in the Porto Novo municipality), São Nicolau and Santiago (in the Tarrafal, São Miguel, Santa Cruz and Santa Catarina municipalities), prompting the government to declare a state of emergency.

Early projections of the CH analyses indicate that about 33 500 people (7 percent of the analysed population) are expected to be acutely food insecure during the June to August 2026 lean season period.

Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

This brief was prepared using the following data/tools:
FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance Sheet (CCBS) https://www.fao.org/giews/data-tools/en/ .

FAO/GIEWS Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Tool https://fpma.fao.org/ .

FAO/GIEWS Earth Observation for Crop Monitoring https://www.fao.org/giews/earthobservation/ .

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) https://www.ipcinfo.org/ .