Floods in Cape Verde threaten food security

August floods in the northern islands of Cape Verde threaten the expected reduction in acute food insecurity at this time of year in the archipelago, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations warned.

Projections pointed to “around 35,300 people facing acute food insecurity from June to August, during the lean season (when reserves are depleted before the next harvest), a figure below the 44,100 people needing humanitarian assistance estimated for the same period in 2024,” indicated the FAO, in the most recent summary of the Global Agricultural and Food Information and Alert System (GIEWS).

The document, with a reference date of Friday, detailed, however, that “the real number of people in a situation of acute food insecurity, in 2025, is expected to be higher than estimates , taking into account the impact of the flash floods that hit the islands of São Vicente, Santo Antão and São Nicolau, on August 11”.

“ The floods destroyed food reserves , livelihoods and damaged critical infrastructure, increasing the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable families,” explained the FAO.

The organization recalls that the Government declared a state of emergency for the municipalities affected by the storm, with preliminary projections amounting to 95,000 affected residents.

The 2024 agricultural season was more generous than usual, but the upcoming season is an unknown: the irregularity of rainfall (which typically falls from July to October) “has affected the sowing and germination of corn crops,” which is “practically the only cereal produced by the country,” the organization recalled.

“Weather forecasts for September and October point to near- or below-average rainfall levels, which should have a negative impact on corn yields,” he added.

Cereal production in the archipelago in 2024 will have reached 3,600 tons, “almost 80% above the minimum levels of the previous five years, a period that included three consecutive campaigns with failed harvests due to drought.”

"The above-average production in 2024 was largely due to favorable weather conditions and the provision of agricultural supplies by the government, which offset a significant reduction in the planted area. The decrease in sowing is part of a broader trend of abandonment of agricultural activity in some areas of the country, driven by irregular rainfall and the high cost of agricultural labor in recent years," the FAO document detailed.

The context inherited from 2024 has allowed “retail prices of locally produced corn to remain stable or register a 5% decrease in monitored markets, between April and July 2025, remaining close to or below the values ​​of a year ago”.

“Retail prices of imported rice and wheat flour remained largely stable between April and July 2025, remaining in July close to the levels recorded in the same period of the previous year,” the report concluded.