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Burkina Faso + 3 more

Sahel and West Africa Food Security Update, February 2005


Rising grain prices threaten household buying power in the Sahel
I. SUMMARY

Grain prices in the Sahel continue to rise, particularly in areas especially hard hit by production shortfalls in the wake of the drought and the locust outbreak. Rising prices are making access to staple grain products increasingly difficult for impoverished area residents. The governments of the Sahelian countries, with the support of their food security partners, are responding with supply-side measures designed to improve food availability and facilitate food access.

Following the recommendations by last September's meeting of the regional surveillance system in Dakar and in the wake of the conclusions drawn by delegates attending the annual meeting of the food crisis prevention network for the Sahel, in Niamey, this past December, the CILSS and FEWS NET REGIONAL organized a joint mission from February 19-27 to assess the current food situation in Mauritania. According to the findings by the assessment mission, there is absolutely no evidence of a famine in that country. However, the food situation is still precarious and, in essence, hinges on local coping strategies and interventions by the government and its food security partners. Any sort of destabilizing factor (a loss of income, shortage of food supplies, regression in terms of trade or hike in prices) could create food insecurity problems during this year's pre-harvest lean period. The mission's recommendations included, without being limited to, the following:

  • Speed up the implementation of already announced programs providing close to 40,000 MT of emergency food aid.

  • Make necessary provisions for providing targeted food aid to areas especially hard hit by food insecurity problems in June and July. To this end, it would be advisable to preposition grain supplies to help sustain destitute residents of these areas during the upcoming lean period.

  • Ensure ample market supplies of food products and animal feed and the replenishment of village grain banks to guarantee price stability and food access.

  • Mount targeted "Cash For Work" programs (cleaning wells, reclaiming farmland, building schools, dams, etc.) in blighted areas.

  • Open an urgent dialogue on chronic food insecurity problems in blighted areas (Aftout, Affolé, and the Senegal River Valley) to lay the foundation for long-term food security.

II. ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT FOOD SITUATION IN MAURITANIA

The assessment of the current food situation in Mauritania - the country hardest hit by the drought and the locust outbreak - revealed the following:

  • many Mauritanian farmers and agropastoralists already impoverished by several consecutive years of poor harvests were seriously affected by the failure of the coarse grain (maize, sorghum and millet) and cowpea harvest;

  • in many cases, market prices for grain products are unduly high, with most consumers forced to turn to imported rice and wheat, as the only products available on rural markets;

  • wild plant foods are scarce as a result of heavy demand over the past few years and their destruction by invading locusts;

  • rural households are becoming increasingly reliant on cash remittances from migrating family members working mostly in large towns and cities around the country to meet their consumption needs;

  • animal herds in Aftout are suffering from a scarcity of watering holes and shortage of natural pasture.

An in-depth examination of production systems and sources of food and/or income shows that the most vulnerable population group is that of households with few or no stock animals growing rainfed crops as their main livelihood. The main means of subsistence for households in villages throughout the Boras, Aftout and Senegal River Valley areas visited by the mission are still remittances of food and cash from migrating family members, sales of underweight animals, borrowing, small-scale home-based businesses (watering livestock, making and selling bricks, selling wood and straw) and community assistance. Most households are still able to meet their food needs though, in many cases, they are having an extremely hard time doing so.

Figure 1 breaks down the sources of food and income for a typical household in the areas toured by the mission.


Figure 1. Breakdown of household sources of food and income in agropastoral areas toured by the mission: February 2005

Source: Joint CILSS-FEWS NET mission

III. FOOD SECURITY OUTLOOK IN MAURITANIA AND THE REST OF THE SAHEL

The findings by the joint assessment show no acute food emergency or famine in any of the areas toured by the mission, reputed to be the areas of Mauritania most vulnerable to food insecurity. However, changes in the coping strategies of local residents which, up to now, have been their main means of subsistence make these areas especially prone to a food crisis. The precarious food balance in these areas is being sustained by:

  • the good performance of information systems providing an early warning of any problems;

  • the smooth flow of supplies to local markets, with all markets reporting plentiful supplies of imported foodstuffs (rice and wheat);

  • with support from its food security partners, various government interventions (Food For Work programs, grain banks, distributions of free food aid, the opening of community feeding centers), comprising 40,000 MT of emergency food aid are scheduled to be distributed over the course of this year;

  • increased reliance of local residents on coping strategies grounded mainly in seasonal migration to urban areas, livestock sales and the pursuit of specific income-generating activities. These strategies appear to have become a crucial factor in ensuring household food security, and their effectiveness is reflected in the extent to which rural dwellers are able to remain in their homes.

Coping strategies are finite and already stretched thin, and any destabilizing factor (a loss of income, shortage of supplies, regression in terms of trade or a hike in prices for food products and animal feed) could create food insecurity problems during the upcoming lean period. The mission's recommendations, outlined above, are designed to ease food insecurity conditions during this year's pre-harvest lean period.

Grain prices in the Sahel are still climbing, particularly prices for millet crops. Tight supplies in the wake of the drought and the locust outbreak and heavy demand for millet have been driving up prices in each country's Sahelian zone since November 2004 (Figure 2). February prices (just under 200 CFAF/kg) in certain parts of Burkina Faso are above all a reflection of the speculative effects of supply bottlenecks. These record price levels for this time of year deprive impoverished households of adequate grain access. Supply-side measures in areas reporting the worst production deficits should help market prices for grain products return to normal over the next few weeks.


Figure 2. Trends in average millet prices in the Sahel, selected markets

Source: SIM, OMA, GRAPHIQUE FEWS NET REGIONAL

Millet will be sold under social marketing programs to be mounted in the most distressed areas of Burkina Faso at a price of 5,500 CFAF per 100 kg sack, compared with its normal market price of close to 20,000 CFAF. In Niger, the average price of a 100 kg sack of millet is around 18,000 CFAF. This rise in grain prices, particularly in pastoral areas, is weakening the terms of trade for local pastoralists. As of January of this year, the sale of an average goat by a nomadic pastoralist in Tilabery (Niger) was bringing in the equivalent of a mere 66 kg of millet, down from 106 kg back in September 2004 (Figure 3). Nomadic pastoralists in the Sahel will need to find some way to strengthen their grain access as the downward trend in animal prices continues between now and the start of the rainy season.


Figure 3. Trends in terms of trade for goat/millet, Tilabery Market, Niger

Source: Grain and Livestock Market Information Systems in Niger; Graphic: FEWS NET Sahel



REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON FOOD SECURITY

From March 14-18, the regional surveillance system for the food and agricultural situation in the Sahel managed by the CILSS and its food security partners is holding a regional conference in Bamako, Mali, on food and agriculture and trading opportunities in the Sahel and West Africa.

The conference will bring together delegates from each CILSS member country. The delegates include those involved with strengthening monitoring systems for the winter growing season, information networks tracking trends on markets throughout the Sahel and West Africa, as well as food traders, importers and exporters. It will also be attended by representatives of the countries' development partners (from Italy and the EU, USAID, CIDA, MIFRAC, France's regional mission to the CILSS), subregional or international organizations involved in food security issues, the CILSS (PRA/SA/GRN/POP), the FAO/GIEWS, FEWS NET/USAID, the WFP/VAM, as well as representatives of civil society, NGOs, etc.

Its stated objectives are to:

  • assess the agricultural and food security prospects in each country, based primarily on final farm survey data;

  • pinpoint areas and population groups vulnerable to food insecurity during the upcoming lean period and determine necessary assistance measures;

  • itemize and quantify available food products with a view to promoting trade in agricultural commodities at the subregional level.