First harvests are mitigating food consumption gaps in northern Togo

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The 2024–2025 agricultural season was marked by atypical rainfall with moisture deficits in the northern part of Togo and the eastern region of the Plateaux, which could negatively impact local crops. In the northern part of the country, particularly in the Centrale, Kara, and Savanes regions, rainfall started late at the end of June, with relatively long dry spells occurring during August. However, rainfall has been regular and abundant since early September, and the latest weather forecasts predict heavy rainfall in the coming weeks, suggesting average harvest prospects in November. The crops are at the flowering/maturing stage, and overall vegetative conditions are satisfactory.
In the eastern, southern, and central regions with bimodal rainfall, the crops have completed their growing cycle. The short rainy season, which usually runs from mid-August to the end of November, began late in early September, and producers are only now starting to establish their plots. This delay risks shortening the short rainy season, which could jeopardize the yields of crops that may not complete their vegetative cycle normally.
According to results from the Regional Consultation on Agricultural and Food Prospects in the Sahel and West Africa, held in September 2024 in Niamey, the forecasted cereal production trends in Togo are estimated between 1,384,021 tons and 1,529,708 tons, indicating a projected decrease of 7 percent compared to the previous season and a projected increase of 2 percent compared to the five-year average. As for other crops, forecasts show production increases of 13 percent for tubers and 25 percent for legumes and oilseeds compared to the five-year average. These overall positive forecasted results are expected to improve food security across the country during the harvest period.
For households in the northern zone, which experiences unimodal rainfall, the availability of green products such as fresh maize, cowpeas, and peanuts is allowing a significant portion of poor households to reduce their food consumption gaps and rely less on negative coping strategies. However, the area will continue to face Stressed (IPC Phase 2) and Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes, given the impacts of insecurity in the north, particularly affecting refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and poor households impacted by flooding.
Local staple products, the availability of which had decreased during the lean season, are reappearing on the markets following new harvests from the main agricultural season in the south. Newly harvested maize, peanuts, and cowpeas have been available in markets since August, and their prices have begun a seasonal decline. However, despite the seasonal decline in prices due to harvests in the south, the average price of maize in August remains high compared to the five-year average due to the effects of global commodity marketing costs.
Civil insecurity in the Savanes region, particularly in the prefectures of Kpendjal, Kpendjal-West, Cinkassé, and Tône, remains the primary driver of food insecurity. Despite security measures implemented by the state, the threat of attacks by armed terrorist groups continues to negatively affect the population in this area, while the presence of thousands of refugees and IDPs puts pressure on available food and income sources.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Togo Key Message Update September 2024: First harvests are mitigating food consumption gaps in northern Togo, 2024.

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.