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Key Message Update January - May 2026 Conflict sustains high needs in Far North despite reduced cereal prices Download the report
  • Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are expected to remain widespread across the Northwest and Southwest regions through at least May, driven by persistent conflict and insecurity which continue to disrupt livelihoods and restrict household food availability and access. Staple grain and bean prices are currently 10-25 percent higher than last year and 20-50 percent above the five-year average and are projected to seasonally increase further during the March-May lean season. Income from agricultural labor during the January-May peak season is expected to remain below average due to limited cultivation, restricting poor households’ ability to purchase basic foods. As a result, the number of households facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes is expected to rise and peak between May and June. The worst-affected households — particularly those in highly insecure and remote divisions of Lebialem (Southwest) and Donga Mantung, Momo, Bui, and Menchum (Northwest) — are likely to face widening food consumption gaps. With coping capacities increasingly eroded, a small but growing proportion of households are expected to face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes during the peak of the lean season.
  • Food security outcomes in conflict-affected Logone-et-Chari, Mayo-Sava, and Mayo-Tsanaga divisions of the Far North are projected to deteriorate from Stressed (IPC Phase 2) to Crisis (IPC Phase 3) between February and May 2026. This decline will be driven by the early depletion of already-limited household food stocks, low household incomes constraining the purchase of staple foods, persistent insecurity, ongoing displacement, and weakened coping capacities. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) indicate that attacks by Islamist militants against rural communities remained elevated throughout 2025 and have continued into 2026. The protracted insurgency continues to severely undermine agricultural and livestock production — the primary livelihoods for poor households — further constraining both food availability and income-earning opportunities. Although off-season harvests in February and March will temporarily improve household food availability, displaced households and other highly vulnerable groups will remain heavily reliant on markets, as their ability to cultivate is constrained by farmland loss and restricted access to fields. Due to low purchasing power, many households are likely to adopt negative coping strategies, including reducing meal size and frequency or reducing non-food expenditures. A small proportion of households whose coping capacity has been eroded by repeated attacks, displacement, and sharp declines in agricultural and livestock production are expected to face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes through at least May 2026.
  • Seasonal prices of staple cereals in northern zone markets remain atypically low, having declined steadily month-on-month since mid-2025. This trend is largely driven by reduced export demand — primarily from Nigeria — stemming from the Cameroon government’s active cereal export ban, import waivers imposed by the Nigerian government, and the depreciation of the NGN. As a result, both formal and informal cross-border cereal flows from Cameroon to Nigeria have been curtailed, increasing local market supply and exerting sustained downward pressure on prices across the zone. In January, sorghum and maize prices in FEWS NET-monitored markets were 10-30 percent below last year’s exceptionally high levels and even lower than the five-year average in some markets. In contrast, legume prices remain elevated, moderately to greatly exceeding both last year’s levels and the five-year average. Prices of shelled groundnuts and cowpea in these markets were roughly 10-25 percent higher than the same period last year, and 14-24 percent above the five-year average. Despite seasonally low cereal prices, conflict-affected households in the Far North Regions continue to face constrained food access, primarily due to lost income from disrupted livelihoods, restricted market and trade route functionality, and persistently high prices of other essential foods — such as cooking oil and rice — and non-food necessities.
  • Staple food prices across much of the country remain elevated, trending moderately to significantly above the five‑year average, driven by reduced supplies from conflict‑affected areas, high transport and fuel costs, and elevated shipping expenses for imported foods. According to FEWS NET, in January, the average price of imported rice was 650 XAF/kilogram in Yaoundé and Douala, representing an 18-20 percent increase compared to the five‑year average. Nonetheless, price trends in most markets have shifted to be slightly below last year’s levels, reflecting easing inflation and stricter government price controls.
  • Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes are expected to persist in Yaoundé and Douala, driven by urban households’ heavy reliance on market purchases amid above-average seasonal food prices and low income-earning opportunities. These pressures are particularly acute for urban internally displaced persons and refugees, who face persistent livelihood constraints. In Mberé (Adamawa), Kadey (East), and Lom et Djerem (East) — where refugees from the Central African Republic account for about 20 percent of the divisional population — Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes are expected to persist at the area level through May. Refugee and host community households earning low incomes relative to elevated staple food prices are likely to experience reductions in food access during the peak of the May-June lean season as purchasing power continues to erode. As a result, some poor households are expected to deteriorate into Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
  • In most agricultural areas of the southern zone, households have already begun land preparation, with main season planting expected between March and mid-April. Seasonal forecasts from FEWS NET’s Agroclimatology Team indicate that the March-May rainy season in both unimodal and bimodal areas are likely to begin on time. Forecasts suggest average to above-average rainfall during this period, which is expected to support favorable conditions for crop establishment and growth. Despite forecasted favorable rainfall, ongoing conflict, escalating violence against civilians, and widespread insecurity continue to limit field access in several parts of the Northwest and Southwest regions, limiting cultivation and undermining overall production prospects.
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Food Security Classification data View all Cameroon Food Security Classification data
Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification

Forward-looking analysis representing the most likely food security outcomes for the near term (December 2025 - January 2026) and medium term (February 2026 - May 2026) periods.

 Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification Shapefile December 2025 (.zip) Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification December 2025 (.geojson) Near Term Projection: December 2025 - January 2026 (.png) Medium Term Projection: February 2026 - May 2026 (.png) Near Term Projection: December 2025 - January 2026 (.kml) Medium Term Projection: February 2026 - May 2026 (.kml) Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification

Forward-looking analysis representing the most likely food security outcomes for the near term (November 2025 - January 2026) and medium term (February 2026 - May 2026) periods.

 Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification Shapefile November 2025 (.zip) Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification November 2025 (.geojson) Near Term Projection: November 2025 - January 2026 (.png) Medium Term Projection: February 2026 - May 2026 (.png) Near Term Projection: November 2025 - January 2026 (.kml) Medium Term Projection: February 2026 - May 2026 (.kml) Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification

Current (October 2025) food security outcomes and forward-looking analysis representing the most likely food security outcomes for the near term (October 2025 - January 2026) and medium term (February 2026 - May 2026) periods.

 Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification Shapefile October 2025 (.zip) Cameroon Acute Food Insecurity Classification October 2025 (.geojson) Current Situation: October 2025 (.png) Near Term Projection: October 2025 - January 2026 (.png) Medium Term Projection: February 2026 - May 2026 (.png) Current Situation: October 2025 (.kml) Near Term Projection: October 2025 - January 2026 (.kml) Medium Term Projection: February 2026 - May 2026 (.kml)
Seasonal Calendar

The Seasonal Calendar shows the annual and cyclical patterns of key food and income sources in a country throughout the typical year.
Seasonal Calendar image showing harvest and rainy periods for Cameroon
Satellite-derived products map

USGS-provided data and imagery supports FEWS NET's monitoring efforts of weather and climate throughout the world.

View all satellite-derived products
Livelihood Zone Resources Cameroon Livelihood Zone Descriptions Cameroon Livelihood Zone Map, April 2021
Cameroon 2021 Livelihood Zones Map English (.PNG)
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