Cape Verde, commonly referred to as Cabo Verde, is a country consisting of 10 islands off the west coast of Africa. The country has a small population of approximately 593,000 people dispersed among the nine inhabited islands. Due to the country’s isolated location, volcanic origin and limited resources, poverty and hunger in Cabo Verde are significant issues. Below are five facts about hunger in Cabo Verde.

5 Facts About Hunger in Cabo Verde

1. As of 2023, Cabo Verde has a moderate level of hunger. Since 2020, the country has had to grapple with a wide range of factors that contribute to food insecurity, including climate shocks, drops in food production, the COVID-19 pandemic and market fluctuations driven by surrounding conflicts. Geographical issues such as territorial isolation and the lack of arable land also translate to limited agricultural production and heavy reliance on food imports, which undermines residents’ access to food stocks. Over 43,000 people have been estimated to be facing acute food insecurity in the country in 2023, representing 9% of the total population.
2. Cabo Verde has limited access to water. One of Cabo Verde’s most limited resources is clean water, which stems from its ever-changing climate and frequent disasters such as droughts and floods. Energy intensive desalination, which relies on electricity produced by thermal power plants, has largely been the state’s solution to water scarcity. However, the high costs involved in this process have directly impacted the affordability of water. In particular, remote villages struggle to meet water and energy tariffs, leading them to often rely on brackish water or contaminated water instead that is unfit for drinking.
3. Trade is relatively successful, but has negative consequences for food. Cabo Verde’s highest exports are fish products, and its highest imports include petroleum and automobiles. Yet due to the republic’s lack of resources such as natural gas, dependence on exports is heavy, resulting in issues that affect domestic food availability such as overfishing. Additionally, the distance from trading ports deters the transportation of fresh food in consideration of expiration periods.
4. The amount of arable land is low. A quarter of the land in Cabo Verde is volcanic rock, meaning that its soil is rough and unrefined. Although the land accommodates for grazing, which allows for livestock farming, several characteristics of poor soil such as depleted soil fertility prevents the country from relying on agriculture as a means of domestic food supply. Furthermore, rising temperatures have also created a favorable environment for pests, such as the fall armyworm, which has been damaging crops since 2017.
5. Poverty plays a large role in hunger rates for rural areas. According to the World Bank, 15.1% of the population were projected to live in poverty in 2023. This rate is expected to decline in the next several years due to the profitability of service and industry sectors, as well as a moderation of inflation, but rural areas continue to remain at risk of poor living conditions and a lack of access to high-nutrient foods. In April 2022, a joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), and state assessment project found that families in rural areas were reducing their daily number of meals from three meals a day to sometimes one meal a day to account for dwindling food stocks and unaffordable food prices. Additionally, farmers were observed to be selling off their livestock, reducing the availability of milk and cheese to growing children and impacting their nutrition levels. Despite a reported trend of improvement in overall poverty rates, the fragility of food systems and resources that disproportionately affect rural areas contributes to the persistence of food insecurity in Cabo Verde.

Solutions to Hunger

Both the state and international aid organizations have taken steps to address hunger in Cabo Verde. In 2023, the WFP began to purchase and deliver in-kind food commodities to support the School Feeding Programme that the state implemented in 1979 to combat food insecurity and provide nutritional options to students. This program currently benefits 20% of the country’s population by supplying them with at least one hot meal per day during the school year, mitigating the vulnerability of low income families at risk of succumbing to a food crisis. Through the implementation of the Limited Emergency Operation (LEO), the WFP was able to bolster the strength of the School Feeding program on hold and support the government’s fundraising strategy. Thus, with a combination of support and collaboration, Cabo Verde has been able to continue moving towards poverty reduction in an effort to solve its ongoing hunger crisis.

Hope for Cabo Verde

Even though poverty and hunger remain  prevalent concerns in Cabo Verde, recent political and socioeconomic successes pose hope for the future. In 2024, real GDP growth is expected to remain stable at 4.7%, and inflation is projected to decrease to 2.7%. By leveraging its economic growth and reinforcing current reform programs designed to target hunger, Cabo Verde may be able to take substantial steps in eradicating hunger in contrast to its predicted persistence.

– Evan Coleman, Moon Jung Kim
Photo: Flickr

Updated: July 31, 2024