Food balance sheets provide information on food security, indicators of the prevalence of undernourishment and losses in the cases of Benin, Guinea and Mali

Abstract

This paper was done within the framework of the Monitoring of the SDGs in Africa (SODDA) project which supported the analysis of the food balance sheets drawn up through the letter of agreement between FAO/GS1 and AFRISTAT. Analysis of the self-sufficiency rate over the 2010–2015 period shows that Mali has higher food self-sufficiency than Benin and Guinea. In Guinea, overall, 43.2% of domestic product supplies are on average imports. Plant products are the most dependent on imports with an average annual IDR of 48.2% compared to 12.5% for animal products. In the three countries, plant products are the most dependent on imports. The use of FAO methodologies for calculating the prevalence of undernourishment under SDG 2 and the food loss index under SDG 12 made it possible to estimate these two indicators using BAs and other related indicators. The results in 2015 show that Benin and Guinea with respectively 14.2% and 15.6% of the population with a prevalence of undernourishment are ahead of Mali with 5%. In terms of individuals, estimates give 1.5 million Beninese, 1.2 million Guineans and 0.9 million Malians who were undernourished in 2015.