FAO urges greater focus on humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations

FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa (RAF), Abebe Haile-Gabriel, and Director of the FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, have concluded a seven-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), aiming to raise awareness of the severe food security situation on the ground and mobilize support to reverse the alarming trend.

They emphasized the urgent need for a significant increase in emergency agricultural aid and scaled up humanitarian aid efforts, coupled with expanded programming and policy efforts to strengthen resilience of vulnerable populations, particularly in areas experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity, including in internally displaced persons (IDP) sites.

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released in October, between July and December 2024, approximately 25.6 million people in the DRC, or 22 percent of the population analysed, are experiencing high acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above). For the first time, the IPC analysis included IDP sites in the eastern provinces, and the results are alarming. Most IDP sites are classified as IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) – critical levels of acute food insecurity characterized by large food gaps and high levels of acute malnutrition. Projections for early 2025 suggest a similar outlook unless effective and sustained assistance is provided.

“The food security situation across the country is extremely critical, particularly in the IDP camps – where the crisis is both urgent and chronic. We need to find innovative and efficient tools and solutions to avert a catastrophe but also to unlock the country’s untapped potential for significant agricultural productivity and profitability. And it is in the area where FAO plays an important role by providing emergency agricultural aid to pull people back from the brink while simultaneously building longer-term resilience and ensuring food security for crisis-affected populations,” Bechdol said.

“Emergency agriculture is a cost-effective, impactful and dignified way to support the most vulnerable in the DRC. We visited IDP sites and saw the lifesaving impact of micro-gardening and related interventions which are providing nutritious food in the middle of these IDP sites. But we need to move beyond just making the humanitarian response more effective and use agricultural intervention to enhance resilience to future shocks,” Paulsen said.

Joining the Deputy Director-General on her field visit in Goma, the Minister of Agriculture of the DRC Gregoire Mutshail Mutomb expressed his appreciation for the long-term partnership between FAO and the Congolese government, especially in the context of emergencies and resilience. “We are very happy with the micro-gardening, with the school gardens, with other support we received from FAO to farming activities – the distribution of seeds, the dissemination of agricultural kits. All this helps to ease the burden for populations who live in very difficult conditions,” the Minister said. 

While on the mission, the FAO delegation was joined by government officials, UN and local partner organizations to meet people on the frontlines of the humanitarian crisis and observe the implementation of FAO projects on the ground. They visited the Rusayo 2 IDP site outside Goma, where FAO is assisting IDPs affected by the conflict with cash+, which combines unconditional cash transfers with micro-gardening and livestock production inputs, as well as the FAO-supported market-gardening production site run by elderly women in the village of Mugunga.

The delegation took part in the ongoing cash and micro-gardening kits distributions in North Kivu enabling participating IDPs to meet their immediate food and basic needs.

In South Kivu, the delegation also saw firsthand the FAO-supported fish hatchery and high-quality seed multiplication site, and the National Agricultural Study and Research Institute (INERA) with which FAO has established a robust partnership to foster agricultural innovation and improve productivity in the region. The delegation also visited Dimitra Clubs – a FAO pivotal initiative that empowers rural populations, in particular women and children, to bring about changes in their communities.

These projects have demonstrated that support for local food production and timely access to seeds and other agricultural inputs are crucial for sustaining people’s livelihoods and preventing a larger food crisis. 

The mission concluded with a press conference in Goma.

The DRC faces a prolonged humanitarian crisis, compounded by armed conflict, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, currency depreciation, and high food prices. To break the vicious cycle, it is crucial to help vulnerable populations get back on their feet, restore food production and build long-term resilience to future shocks.

At the moment, FAO is assisting 25 000 vulnerable households, or approximately 150 000 people, in North Kivu and Ituri through cash+ programmes. In South Kivu, FAO has reached over 50 000 vulnerable households this year. The Organization will continue to work on the ground to support vulnerable populations to cope with these numerous challenges and provide multi-sectoral assistance to strengthen food production and generate income for those most in need.

To sustain and expand its efforts, FAO appeals for $330 million in 2025 for emergency agricultural and resilience interventions– which is a slight increase from last year due to the worsening of food security and livelihood conditions. With these funds, FAO is planning to reach just over three million people.