Food Insecurity in the Central African Republic

Thank you for contacting me about food insecurity in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Around half the population in CAR are food insecure as a result of shrinking agricultural production caused largely by conflict and insecurity.
The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis in the CAR and is contributing £40 million in humanitarian aid from 2016-2019 through the CAR Humanitarian and Recovery Programme. The programme is designed to address the urgent life-saving and protracted needs of conflict-affected populations in CAR and refugees in Cameroon who have fled violent conflict since December 2013. Since the start of the programme, over 1.5 million people in CAR and over 270,000 refugees in Cameroon have been reached with humanitarian assistance.

As you mentioned, over 75 per cent of the country's working population relies on agriculture, which has been so drastically affected by the years of conflict and instability. The UK's support is helping some 300,000 people to restart their livelihoods, through the provision of food-producing seed, disease-resistant cassava cuttings, livestock vaccinations, and agricultural tools. Food aid also help avoid the consumption of seed meant for planting or harvesting crops early.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.