Low Income Food Deficit Countries

Similar term(s): LIFDCs.

Countries that are both poor and net importers of food.

Source: GreenFacts

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 [International Development Association] assistance. At present, that means that their net income amounts to less than US$1,395 per person [per year].
• 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 all their needs and lack sufficient foreign exchange to fill the gap by purchasing food on the international market.

For the list of LIFDCs (of September 2004): click here: www.fao.org/countryprofiles/lifdc.asp 

Source: FAO Low-income food-deficit countries 

Fisheries

Forests & agriculture land use