As The Country Mainly Rely On Food Imports
By Our Reporter
The level of hunger in Liberia is “serious”, says the latest Global Hunger Index.
This is a West African country, which has vast amount of fertile land, but has for nearly two decades invested just a tiny portion of its national wealth in Agriculture,
“In the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI) just released, Liberia ranks 117th out of the 125 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2023 GHI scores. With a score of 32.2 in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Liberia has a level of hunger that is serious.”
The GHI is said to be a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national level.
Back in 2023, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a report raising concern about the growing food security that Liberia faces, predicting that food insecurity will increase in 2023.
This country mainly relies of imported food, with the country important over US$2020 million annually on the importation of Liberians’ staple food, rice.
“Levels of acute food insecurity are expected to increase in 2023. Food availability and access are likely to remain limited by high food prices and below‑average imports, exacerbated by the unfolding effects of the war in Ukraine on international trade and commodity prices. An expected further slowdown in economic domestic growth in 2023 is likely to compound food insecurity conditions for the most vulnerable households. In the June to August 2023 lean season period, over 530 000 people are projected to face acute food insecurity, including about 21 350 people in CH Phase 4 (Emergency),” the FAO said.
According to the report, GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators: Undernourishment, Child stunting, Child wasting and Child mortality.
The hunger index is also based on the values of the four indicators, a GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger, where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
Upon taking office in January this year, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai promised to prioritize agriculture.