Low-income food-deficit countries


The list of low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) was developed by FAO in the late 1970s to assist in analysing and discussing food security issues. LIFDCs are currently defined as nations that are:

  • poor -- with a net income per person that falls below the level used by the World Bank to determine eligibility for IDA assistance. At present, that means that their net income amounts to less than US$1,395 per person.
  • net importers of food -- with imports of basic foodstuffs outweighing exports over the past three years. In many cases, particularly in Africa, these countries cannot produce enough food to meet their all their needs and lack sufficient foreign exchange to fill the gap by purchasing food on the international market.

Unless concerted action is taken, things could get worse for many LIFDCs, where population growth is projected to outstrip gains in food production, and the liberalization of the grain trade, under the Uruguay Round Agreement, is likely to increase food prices in the short term.




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