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Food Security and Humanitarian Implications in West Africa and the Sahel. N°53 - February 2014

Year of publication 2014

Pages 6p.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Journal, magazine, bulletin

Series title Food Security and Humanitarian Implications in West Africa and the Sahel

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The pastoral lean season will start earlier than usual in some areas in the Sahel region, following pasture dryness and decreasing water levels of watering points. The most affected regions are the ones that experienced rainfall deficits in 2013, most notably in Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad. The food security situation is starting to deteriorate throughout the region, especially in countries like Senegal and Mauritania, where recent surveys confirm the risk of an early lean season a nd a difficult food security situation for poor households. In West Africa, the three trade basins are currently well supplied with local cereals and prices remained stable or decreased in most markets compared to December 2013. This regional trend in the markets correspond to price decreases in the international markets, particularly for wheat and rice, which are the most imported cereals in the region. In 2014, in line with the Strategic Response Plan for the Sahel region, the food security se ctor aims to support 11.8 million people out of the estimated 20.2 million food insecure people throughout the region. The mobilization of USD 838 million is required to improve the food security situation of the most vulnerable households in the Sahel. Early funding (before April 2014) is required for already food insecure households in order to implement projects that prepare for the main agricultural season as well as the pastoral lean season.

Language English

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    Journal, magazine, bulletin
    Food Security and Humanitarian Implications in West Africa and the Sahel. N°62 - February 2015 2015
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    The off-season activities are continuing without any major hurdles. Regarding pastoralism, four months after the end of the rainy season, drying and depletion of pasture and water sources continue, particularly in areas that had a rainfall deficit in Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad. Pastoral lean season is already shaping up with high concentrations of animals in the areas that remain favourable to grazing, the descent into agricultural areas and cross-border transhumance, particularly towards Togo and Northern Benin. The results of the periodic food security monitoring which took place in Mauritania by the Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire and WFP in December 2014 shows a deterioration of the food security situation with food insecurity rates never before seen in the post-harvest period. The effects of agriculture and pastoralism following the rain deficits recorded in the country could explain these high rates of food insecurity.
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    Journal, magazine, bulletin
    Food Security and Humanitarian Implications in West Africa and the Sahel. N°54 - March 2014 2014
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    The meeting of the Regional Consultation on Food and Nutritional Situation in the Sahel and West Africa (PREGEC) confirms the decrease in cereal production in the Sahel during the 2013/2014 agricultural campaign compared to last year. Significant production decreases have been recorded in several areas, notably in Chad, Mali, Niger and Senegal. Poor and very poor households living in these areas, which are also affected by the decrease in pasture production, are already facing food insecurity. T he markets will function normally until the lean season, when seasonal increases in cereal prices will be observed, especially for millet, the production of which decreased significantly (20 percent). According to the Harmonized Framework analysis, 26 zones out of 345 are identified as currently food insecure, with the situation reaching a crisis phase in Chad, Mali, Niger, Senegal and The Gambia. During the lean season (June to August 2014), an increase in the number of zones in crisis phase is expected, reaching 58 zones in total and extending to areas in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mauritania. It is crucial to address the needs of these populations under pressure and to protect their livelihoods.
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    Journal, magazine, bulletin
    Food Security and Humanitarian Implications in West Africa and the Sahel. N°57 - June 2014 2014
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    The 2014/2015 agricultural campaign is marked by a late start of the rainy season, particularly in Nigeria and in Cameroon, and by dry spells that occurred subsequent to sowing activities in localized areas in Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. The lean season has started for most of rural households. This year is particularly difficult for households in some areas in Mauritania and Niger due to the early depletion of food stocks of households that depend on markets for their food consumption. Anothe r reason for the deterioration of the food security situation in the region is the civil unrest which still prevails in the Central African Republic, northern Nigeria and northern Mali, causing people to flee their homes and countries. In the three basins, commercial trade flows of agricultural commodities have functioned well between April and June 2014, as agricultural surpluses of the main exporting countries (Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria) reached food deficit areas in the Sahel re gion. The markets are well supplied due to destocking activities by traders, which have contributed to ease regional flows. However, price levels in May were more than 15 percent above their five year averages in northern Mali, Chad, Nouakchott in Mauritania and along the border between Niger and Nigeria. These elevated price levels will limit food access of poor and very poor households.
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