Over 6.2 million people, 28% of the population, are estimated to be moderately acute food insecure, and 66,000 people to be severely acute food insecure, the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in their report on Sri Lanka for September 2022.
The Crop & Food Security Assessment Mission report on Sri Lanka’s agricultural production & household food security status in 2022 says the situation is likely to deteriorate during the lean season from October 2022 to February 2023.
The highest level of acute food insecurity is in the Estate sector (tea production) and among female-headed households, households with no education, the Indian Tamil population, and Samurdhi programme beneficiaries.
The report said immediate food assistance and livelihood programmes are essential for moderately and severely acute food insecure populations, including through existing social assistance mechanisms, to improve household purchasing power to access nutritious food.
In order to avert a further deterioration of food security conditions and to support the restoration of agricultural production, livelihood assistance targeting smallholder farmers should remain a priority.
The latest report on Sri Lanka said that improving the production capacity of farmers would ultimately boost the resilience of the agricultural sector.
The report added that the World Food Programme aims to reach 3.4 million of those most affected by food insecurity by the end of 2022.
Full report: The Crop & Food Security Assessment Mission report on Sri Lanka.pdf
