Lao PDR Food Security Monitoring – Remote Household Food Security Survey Brief (September 2022) – Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the)

One in seven households in Lao PDR are meals insecure (14 p.c).1 The trajectory of the meals safety state of affairs stays unsure, with inflation rising to 34 p.c in September, 2 and costs for key commodities creeping greater with every month. Further monitoring of the state of affairs within the coming months will stay essential to informing motion.

Meals insecurity is affecting completely different components of the nation unequally. In some districts, round 25 p.c of households are meals insecure, whereas in others, 5 p.c of households are meals insecure. Notably, rural areas are extra meals insecure (17 p.c) than these in city areas (9 p.c). The distinction is especially evident when contemplating the higher meals safety state of affairs in Vientiane Capital (5 p.c).

Households with dropping incomes are particularly affected. These going through a major discount in revenue (>50 p.c) are greater than twice as more likely to be meals insecure (25 p.c) than households with incomes that stayed the identical or elevated (10 p.c).

Massive components of the inhabitants are counting on coping methods to maintain meals on the desk and meet different important wants. Greater than half of households are turning to livelihood-based coping methods resembling spending. financial savings, chopping down on well being expenditure, and borrowing cash so as to purchase meals or meet different important wants.

Persons are most nervous about meals value will increase. Some 33 p.c of households indicated that the rise in meals costs is their high concern. This concern was greater than 3 times greater than some other singular concern.

This comes as practically 1 / 4 of the inhabitants is reporting bother in accessing markets (23 p.c). The mix of rising costs, problem in accessing markets, and excessive reliance on coping methods might result in a worsening of the meals safety state of affairs. Regardless of the demonstrable financial and social progress of the previous few years,the impacts of COVID-19 coupled with the present world meals disaster are threatening to reverse growth positive factors in Lao PDR.