Ebola

Up to 1 million people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone could be "food insecure" by March because of disruptions to farming and marketing due to the Ebola virus, say two UN agencies, the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The outbreak of Ebola infections in western Africa is disrupting food production so that hundreds of thousands of people will face hunger in coming months, says The Atlantic.

The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus resulted in a decline "on the order of 20 percent" of rice production in parts of Liberia, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Rampant hunger is appearing in Liberia, one of the west African nations hit by ebola, says Mother Jones magazine. It cites a spot check by Mercy Corps, a charity, of three parts of the country heavily affected by the disease.

The Agriculture Department is taking a supporting role in assuring food security in countries struggling with an outbreak of the deadly ebola virus in West Africa.

The agriculture ministers of Liberia and Sierra Leone say the ebola outbreak in western Africa is "exacerbating hunger and wrecking any plans to revitalize the region's farm production," says DTN from the World Food Prize symposium in Iowa.

The ebola outbreak in western Africa could disrupt the cocoa harvest in two of the world's largest growers of the crop that yields chocolate and affect prices, says Politico.

The global Food Price Index is down for the sixth month in a row, says the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Sugar and dairy prices dropped by the largest amounts, followed by grains and oils.

The World Bank says international food prices fell by 6 percent over a four-month stretch and are the lowest in four years. Lower wheat prices drove the decline, says the bank's Food Price Watch.

Food prices are rising and supplies are short in the three west African nations affected by the outbreak of the Ebola virus and the harvest season is imperiled by labor shortages due to restrictions on travel, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in a special alert. FAO reported "panic buying, food shortages and significant food price hikes on some commodities, especially in urban centers." With harvest-time near for rice and corn, travel restriction "will seriously impact farm production," said the alert.