NIGER Food Security Update August 2008

• A slowdown in rainfall began affecting the growing Figure 1. Current food security conditions, July- season at the end of July. However, since the beginning September 2008 of the second dekad of August, rainfall has normalized and been well‐distributed, and water conditions have again become favorable to crop development. If the rains continue normally until the end of September, the outlook is for significantly above‐average harvests.

• Because of the erratic rainfall, cereal market prices rose sharply through the first dekad of August. As a result, the government increased its sales at moderate prices in all regions of the country and distributed 14,416 MT to highly food insecure populations (Figure 1). Therefore, since the second dekad of August, prices have begun to drop in several regions.

• Several planted areas were flooded after heavy rains, especially in the regions of Agadez (54 villages), Source: FEWS NET (128 villages), Dosso (135 villages), Maradi (151 villages), For more information on FEWS NET’s Food Insecurity Severity Scale, Tahoua (319 villages), Tillabéri (66 villages) and Zinder please see: www.fews.net/FoodInsecurityScale (574 villages).

• As far as health conditions are concerned, there has been a lull in new meningitis and measles cases, but an outbreak of cholera in the has occurred and malaria remains an issue in all regions. The nutritional situation is better this year than last year during the same period.

Seasonal calendar and critical events

Source: FEWS NET Niger

FEWS NET Niger FEWS NET Washington 1717 H St NW The Famine Early Warning Systems Network is an activity financed by the USAID. The ideas and opinions expressed in this document are not Tel: 00 227 20 73 43 20 Washington DC 20006 necessarily those of the USAID or of the United States Government. [email protected] [email protected]

www.fews.net/niger NIGER Food Security Update August 2008

Current Food Conditions

Food products are sufficiently available on the markets. However, persistently high prices make access to cereals by poor households difficult. Therefore, the current hunger season (July‐September) continues despite the good market supply and good crop development. This situation, in combination with exhausted household food reserves and structural poverty, leaves poor urban and rural households moderately to highly food insecure. The two areas most affected are the northern part of the country (), given the persistence of the rebel movement which hinders trade between this area and the rest of the country, and the areas with structural food shortages in the Tillabéri, Dosso, and Diffa regions (Figure 1). Additionally, heavy rains in July and August 2008 caused flooding in the regions of Agadez (54 villages), Diffa (128 villages), Dosso (135 villages), Maradi (151 villages), Tahoua (319 villages), Tillabéri (66 villages) and Zinder (574 villages). More than 40,000 people were affected, and the flooding damaged agricultural infrastructure and several areas planted in rice, millet and cassava. In total, 1,827,000 people are food insecure in Niger, 13 percent of the total population.

Overall, nutritional conditions remained poor during this period. This is normal for this time of year, the hunger season, when malnutrition in Niger is at its peak. Monitoring of the nutritional situation shows that many malnourished children are still being admitted to nutritional therapy programs. Most are moderately malnourished. These deteriorating conditions are especially pronounced compared to 2007 in the Arlit, Madarounfa, Madaoua, Ouallam, Magaria, Matameye, Mirriah, and Zinder departments. However, thanks to government and NGO intervention, the general situation in August 2008 is better than in August 2007 and 2006. This August, 17,708 cases of child malnutrition were recorded, compared to 20,889 cases in August 2007 and 29,261 in 2006. This year’s figure represents a 15 percent decrease from 2007 and a 22 percent decrease from the three‐year average. The decrease in the number of malnutrition cases has resulted from intensive efforts to incorporate nutritional activities into the minimum services package at the community level, combined with health training, preventive measures, and community accountability for the problem. The situation could improve further in the coming months thanks to opportunities to diversify and enrich local diets as more food products, fruits, and vegetables (milk, groundnuts, cowpeas, eggs, etc.) become available along with the products of the harvest from the current agricultural season.

The Ministry of Public Health’s DSSRE (Office of Statistics and Epidemic Monitoring and Response) reported 22 cases of cholera in August 2008, including one death, primarily in the urban community of Maradi. This brings the total number of cases to 123, including five deaths, in Maradi (Maradi, Mayahi and Tessaoua departments) and 457 cases, including 50 deaths, in the (Tanout department). Outside of these two regions, no cholera was reported. There have been fewer reported cases of measles and meningitis than last month, namely 87 cases of measles, including one death, and 11 cases of meningitis with one death.

The heavy rains in July and August 2008 caused floods, making conditions ripe for the malaria and diarrhea that are affecting a large number of people, especially children under the age of five years. There were 286,606 cases of malaria reported in August 2008, including 524 deaths, compared to 80,467 cases with 81 deaths in July 2008 and 44,513 cases with 107 deaths in August 2007. This represents an increase of more than 200 percent compared to last month, meaning that malaria transmission is high this season. The majority of malaria cases were reported in the departments of the river region, in particular those of Tillabéri (72,901 cases, including 187 deaths) but also those of the regions of Maradi (62,000 cases with 139 deaths), Zinder (44,907 cases with 56 deaths), Tahoua (38,857 cases with 36 deaths) and Dosso (34,287 cases with 50 deaths). A total of 1,961 cases of bloody diarrhea were also reported in August. Access to health care for children under five has also become difficult because so much work is being done in the fields, which makes visits to the health‐care and feeding centers difficult. The cholera cases, coupled with the meningitis and measles in a context dominated by a high rate of malaria transmission and bloody diarrhea, have negatively affected the nutritional condition of children under five years of age.

In response to food and nutrition insecurity the government and its partners have restocked 200 cereal banks, sold 13,000 MT of cereals—including 3,000 MT of rice—at subsidized prices, distributed 14,416 metric tons of sorghum, millet and maize free of charge, supported the populations affected by the floods, and undertaken blanket feeding operations for malnourished children. However, with the prospect of the upcoming arrival of September harvests on the market, and the decline in prices that likely will result, the national mechanism for the prevention and management of food crises is

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expecting to cancel the third phase of subsidized sales which was expected to cover 144,158 households in September 2008.

Development of the Agricultural Season Figure 2. Water requirement satisfaction index of crops as of August 20, 2008 Rains resumed in August in all regions after dry spells between the third dekad of July and the first dekad of August 2008. As of N/A Failure Poor August 20, seasonal rainfall totals ranged from 200 to 566 mm. Mediocre Average This is a noticeable increase from the July 31 totals which ranged Good Very good Not yet from 54 to 419 mm. The improvements rainfall and water No start yet availability have allowed crops that had been subject to delayed growth and water stress recover (Figure 2). Currently, the most advanced crop stages have been reported in the regions of Dosso (Gaya), Maradi (Madaroufa), and Tahoua (Konni and Madaoua) and range from seed setting to maturity. However, the rains must continue through the end of September to ensure good harvests. In fact, according to the preliminary assessment of the the 2008‐09 season, if the rains should stop early (before September 15) only 68 percent of the planted areas would be expected to yield average to above‐average production. In contrast, if the rains continue through the end of September, 91 percent of the areas Source: NOAA/USGS planted in millet and sorghum would produce average to above‐average yields, compared to 90 percent in 2007 and 93 percent for the five‐year average (2003‐2007).

Still, following delayed planting and weak plant growth due to high humidity and soil leaching, the assessment identified 1,427 villages, with a population estimated at 1,183,353 people, as being at risk of low yields and cereal production shortages. These villages are concentrated in the regions of Agadez (54 villages), Diffa (128 villages), Dosso (135 villages), Maradi (151 villages), Tahoua (319 villages), Tillabéri (66 villages), and Zinder (574 villages). Support programs for seed and other inputs for off‐season crops should be prioritized for these villages beginning in October 2008.

In pastoral areas, herbaceous cover was early this season compared to the same period in 2007. Rainfall was low or moderate in grazing areas until the first dekad of August, causing pockets of drought, but after significant precipitation beginning in the second dekad of August, the situation developed normally, dispelling concerns over pasture availability. Surface water sources are currently at a fairly satisfactory level and animals are being watered daily. This favors free movement of the animals throughout the grazing zone. Nevertheless, the situation remains precarious in the grazing areas of Tchin‐Tabaradène, Ouallam, N’Guigmi, and Abalak, considering the persistence of less‐advanced growth stages (emergence and late emergence) after periods of drought. There are pockets of drought in the zones of Egarek, Intamatt, and Tillia for the , the N’Guigmi zones, the northern strip of the Diffa department (in the vicinity of the Sayam livestock breeding center) for the , the northern zones of Banibangou and Mangaizé for the Tillabéri region, Ingall (Tamaya‐Mararaba‐Atarak zone), and the Tadress zone for the Agadez region.

Markets, Trade, and Access to Products for Consumption

Markets are well supplied thanks to sufficient supply from producers, merchants, cereal banks, and the OPVN (Niger Food Products Agency) which manages public reserves intended for sale at subsidized prices. At the same time, because this is the lean period, when household food reserves are exhausted and households are more dependent on the market for their needs, the prices of products for consumption have undergone their seasonal rise (Figures 3 and 4).

A joint study by WFP, SIMA (Niger’s agricultural market information system), FEWS NET, and FAO in July 2008 revealed that the price increases were having a very significant impact on the food security of 58 percent of surveyed households. The results of this study show that food consumption in urban households has deteriorated in 55 percent of cases due to the increase in product prices. This situation is leading urban households to use coping strategies such as consuming less‐well‐

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liked foods (such as gari [a cassava‐based fermented food]), reducing portion sizes, and reducing the number of meals consumed.

The highest price for millet was 247 CFAF per kilogram on the Ouallam market. This is 12 percent above the average for the past five years (Figure 4). The rise in millet prices, which is normal during the lean period, has had a significantly negative impact on household income and diet. In addition, this year, households have had difficulty gaining access to substitute cereals such as maize and rice, the prices of which are also climbing during the harvest period. Rising millet prices are tied to speculation following dry spells in late July and early August, while the increase for corn is a consequence of poor regional production in 2007. The price hikes are affecting all monitored markets, but the highest prices are being seen on the markets in regions with structural shortages (e.g., Ouallam, N’Guigmi, and Loga).

Figure 3. Nominal retail prices of millet on the Bakin Birgi Figure 4. Nominal retail prices of millet on the Ouallam market (Tanout-Zinder) market (Tillabéri)

Source: SIMA and FEWS NET Niger Source: SIMA and FEWS NET Niger

The upward price trend seen for rice arises from both high international prices and the resumption of import taxation by the Government beginning in June. Still, thanks to the return of the rains, stepped‐up subsidized sales by the government, and the arrival of newly‐harvested products on the markets, the next few weeks of September 2008 will see the market situation return to normal, with decreasing prices comparable to the average for the past five years.

As far as stock farming is concerned, prices have risen for most monitored categories of animals. However, terms of trade remain unfavorable to stock farmers because all livestock prices than during the same period last year due to the increase in millet prices. In the coming weeks, continual and significant improvement in livestock condition thanks to the growth of pastures and the availability of water may help increase the animals’ market value and improve of terms of trade to the point that they favor livestock‐raising households.

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NIGER: Supplemental Price Information August 2008

NIGER: Nominal market prices of cereals in 2007/08 compared to 2004/05 and to the average for the past five years

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