Reference Date: 05-November-2024

Maize production in 2024 forecast at below-average level

Harvesting operations of the 2024 maize crop, the only domestically grown cereal, are underway and will conclude by the end of the year. The onset of the rainy season, which normally extends from August to October, was delayed by up to one month, affecting planting operations and the germination of early-planted crops in several cropping areas. Erratic rainfall between mid-September and mid-October had a negative impact on crop establishment and development in several key producing areas, including on the islands of Santiago and Fogo, which account for the bulk of the domestic maize output, constraining yields.

Maize production in 2024 is preliminarily forecast at 1 444 tonnes, 40 percent below the 2023 level and 10 percent below the average of the previous five years.

Prices of most cereals near or below their year-earlier levels

Retail prices of locally produced maize remained stable or decreased between October 2023 and August 2024, when they were near or below their year-earlier levels.

Retail prices of imported wheat flour remained stable or fell between January and August 2024, while prices of imported rice registered increases of up to 25 percent during the same period. In August 2024, prices of wheat flour were below their year-earlier levels, while prices of rice were between 10 and 30 percent higher year on year.

About 44 100 people acutely food insecure during 2024 lean season

According to the March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé (CH) analysis, about 44 100 people (9 percent of the analyzed population) were estimated to face acute food insecurity (CH Phase 3 [Crisis]) during the June to August 2024 lean season period. This shows an increase in the number of acutely food insecure people compared to the same period in 2023, when about 32 300 people (7 percent of the analyzed population) were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance.

New CH estimates of the number of people facing acute food insecurity in the last quarter of 2024 are expected to be released by the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) in December.

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/ .