Conflicts, agriculture and food security

Armed conflict and civil strife were major sources of food insecurity in the 1990s and will continue to be this century, although their number and the losses associated with them may have passed their peak. Depending on which of the various definitions of the term is used, from 30 to 40 countries were conflict-affected at the end of the twentieth century. Overall, hundreds of millions of people were involved. The vast majority of these people lived in low-income countries, in which agriculture represents a major source of livelihood, foreign exchange and social stability. A disproportionate number of countries were in sub-Saharan Africa.