The USAID Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) (Réseau USAID du Système d’Alerte Précoce contre la Famine) 01 BP 1615 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso, West Africa Tel/Fax: 226-31-46-74. Email:
[email protected] STATE OF FOOD SECURITY IN BURKINA FASO FEWS NET UPDATE FOR JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 2001 February 25, 2001 HIGHLIGHTS Food insecurity continues to worsen in the center plateau, north, and Sahel regions, prompting the government to call for distributions and subsidized sales of food between February and August in food insecure areas. Basic food commodities remained available throughout the country in February. Millet, the key food staple, showed no price movements that would suggest unusual scarcities in the main markets compared to prices in February 2000 or average February prices. Nevertheless, millet prices rose 40-85 % above prices a year ago in secondary markets in the north and Sahel regions, respectively. These sharp price rises stem from the drop in cereal production in October-November following the abrupt end of the rains in mid-August. Unfortunately, the lack of good roads reduces trader incentives to supply cereals to those areas. Consequently, prices have been increasing quickly due to increasing demand from households that did not harvest enough. Throughout the north and Sahel regions, most households generally depend on the livestock as their main source of income. Ironically this year, when millet prices are rising, most animal prices have fallen drastically due to severe shortages of water and forage. To make matters worse, animal exports to Ivory Coast, which used to be a very profitable business, are no longer a viable option following the ethnic violence that erupted in that country a few months ago.