MAURITANIA Monthly Food Security Update May 2006
ALERT LEVEL: MAURITANIA NO ALERT Monthly Food Security Update WATCH WARNING May 2006 EMERGENCY CONTENTS Summary and implications Summary and implications ....1 Conditions in livestock-raising All households in farming areas and large numbers of households in agropastoral areas dependent on areas .....................................1 farming as their main livelihood are having a hard time coping with this year’s lean period, which began prematurely (2 to 3 months earlier than usual). In fact, it is becoming increasingly apparent Recap of threats....................2 that most households, particularly in rainfed farming areas (zone 6), the River Valley (zone 7), the Food security conditions........2 western reaches of the agropastoral belt (zone 5) and the north (zone 2), are dealing with three or Food security and livelihoods 2 four consecutive years of accrued production deficits, set against the backdrop of a steady Recommendations ................3 deterioration in terms of trade for their products and in their purchasing power. Most small-scale, local, seasonal harvests are going towards paying off food debts incurred during the course of last year’s and previous lean periods. Although harvests of flood-recession crops (in lowland and dam areas) are still two months off, there is no locally grown sorghum available in a number of crop-producing areas of Aftout (in Maghta Lahjar and Monguel Departments). Domestic grain trade has fallen off and the only locally grown sorghum crops for sale are in markets in urban population centers in the vicinity of crop-producing areas. Traders have bought up all available small supplies of sorghum (in Inchiri, western Aftout) and unit prices (prices per “moud”) are above the 450 UM mark in all parts of the country and, in some locations, as high as 800 UM.
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