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The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) monitors trends in staple food prices in countries vulnerable to food insecurity. For each FEWS NET country and region, the Price Bulletin provides a set of charts showing monthly prices in the current marketing year in selected urban centers and allowing users to compare current trends with both five-year average prices, indicative of seasonal trends, and prices in the previous year.
West Africa can be divided into three agro-ecological zones or three different trade basins (West Basin, Central Basin and EastBasin). Both important for understanding market behavior and dynamics.
The three major agro-ecological zones are the Sahelian, the Sudanese and the Coastal zones where production andconsumption can be easily classified. (1) In the Sahelian zone, millet is the principal cereal cultivated and consumed particularlyin rural areas and increasingly, when accessible, in urban areas. Exceptions include Cape Verde where maize and rice are mostimportant, Mauritania where sorghum and maize are staples, and Senegal with rice. The principal substitutes in the Sahel aresorghum, rice, and cassava flour (Gari), the latter two in times of shortage. (2) In the Sudanese zone (southern Chad, centralNigeria, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, southern Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Serra Leone, Liberia) maize andsorghum constitute the principal cereals consumed by the majority of the population. They are followed by rice and tubers,particularly cassava and yam. (3) In the Coastal zone, with two rainy seasons, yam and maize constitute the most importantfood products. They are supplemented by cowpea, which is a significant source of protein.
The three trade basins are known as the West, Central, and East basins. In addition to the north to south movementofparticular commodities, certain cereals flow horizontally. (1) The West basin refers to Mauritania, Senegal, western Mali, SierraLeone, Guinea, Liberia, and The Gambia where rice is most heavily traded. (2) The Central basin consists of Côte d'Ivoire, centraland eastern Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo where maize is commonly traded. (3) The East basin refers to Niger, Nigeria,Chad, and Benin where millet is traded most frequently. These three trade basins are shown on the map above