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- Ongoing Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes will persist across the Eastern and Northern Lowlands and Imbo Plains through September. Households typically rely on own crop production for most of their food needs during the harvest period; however, below-average Season B harvests, resulting from localized dry spells in March and April, have provided only a modest replenishment of household food stocks, leaving food access constrained. The large presence of refugees and returning Burundians continues to place atypically high demand on markets in eastern Burundi, while the continued closure of borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda is disrupting market supplies and limiting income-generating opportunities in the west and north, respectively.
- During the October–December lean season, the Northern Lowlands livelihood zone is expected to deteriorate to Crisis (IPC Phase 3) due to early exhaustion of food stocks from poor Season B harvests. Localized low wage rates and limited income-earning opportunities will prevent poor households from earning enough to meet minimum food needs through market purchases. Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes will persist across the Eastern Lowlands and Imbo Plains through September, driven by localized below-average Season B harvests, high food prices, limited income-earning opportunities, and refugee and returnee inflows. The Eastern Dry Plateaus will also deteriorate to Stressed (IPC Phase 2) during October-December, as heightened market demand from refugees and returnees increases food prices and competition for labor during the typical height of the lean season.
- The 2026 Season B harvest is currently ongoing and will continue through August. Countrywide, production is on track to be slightly below average, with near-average tuber and cereal production partially offsetting large losses in beans. However, harvests are notably below average locally in major bean-producing areas, especially the Northern Lowlands. Beans are particularly sensitive to excess and insufficient moisture and performed poorly amid erratic rainfall. An extended period of below-average rainfall in March-April hindered development, followed by heavy rains that caused waterlogging. Reduced fertilizer use — stemming from elevated fertilizer prices caused by import disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict — also limited yield potential from the outset of the season. Bean losses were estimated to be 10-20 percent in the Eastern Dry Plateaus and Eastern Lowlands, and nearly 40-50 percent in the Northern Lowlands, where beans are the primary crop of the season.
- Labor opportunities are seasonally low amid the June-August dry season, and further constrained by border closures and macroeconomic challenges. Season C activities, which typically account for only 15 percent of annual agricultural labor demand, are further constrained by fertilizer shortages, while infrastructure construction has slowed due to ongoing macroeconomic constraints. The conflict in eastern DRC also continues to reduce cross-border trade and labor opportunities in western Burundi, where persistent fuel shortages have also curtailed transport-related employment. In northern Burundi, cross-border labor opportunities remain inaccessible due to the continued closure of the Rwanda border. As a result, poor households earn below-average incomes, leading to weak purchasing power, particularly in the Northern Lowlands, where local daily wages (around 4,300 BIF) are only about half the national average (8,300 BIF).
- Staple food prices remained stable between May and June 2026, in line with normal seasonal trends. Maize, cassava, and sweet potato prices were close to last year's levels, while bean prices remained 60 percent higher due to below-average Season A and B harvests, and rice prices were 20 percent above last year. Overall, staple food prices remained 20-120 percent above the five-year average, driven by higher production costs, elevated import costs due to foreign currency shortages and reliance on the parallel exchange market, and high transport costs resulting from persistent fuel shortages. These transport constraints also continue to widen price disparities between surplus- and deficit-producing areas.
- In June 2026, the WFP assisted nearly 940,000 people and provided humanitarian food assistance to 140,774 refugees, 25,845 people in northern Burundi affected by severe crop loss, and 18,940 Burundian returnees from Tanzania. Nutrition interventions reached 8,366 beneficiaries, with 853 admissions for acute malnutrition treatment. Available funding for food assistance is currently on track to run out by the end of August. In the absence of additional funding commitments, programming risks being reduced further from current levels, which are already reduced from 2024 levels, or discontinued entirely. Such cuts or discontinuation would further threaten food access for groups currently receiving assistance, most notably refugees who, under current programming, receive rations designed to provide 50-75 percent of minimum caloric needs. Rations have also effectively been further reduced for refugees who receive their assistance packages in cash, as inflation has eroded the purchasing power of these distributions to just 45-55 percent of the Minimum Expenditure Basket.
Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Burundi Mise à jour des messages clés Juillet 2026 - Janvier 2027: Les Dépressions du Nord devraient se détériorer et basculer en situation de Crise entre octobre et décembre, 2026.
This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here.