NIGER Monthly Food Securi ty Update JUNE 2006 Alert level: No alert Watch Warning Emergency Summary of food security and nutritional conditions SUMMARY On the whole, household food security conditions are satisfactory as the lean period gets Summary of food security and underway. In sharp contrast to the food security conditions which prevailed last year, nutritional conditions ...................…..1 these favorable conditions are being sustained by a regular supply of food products in Current Hazards Summary .........…..2 markets around the country at reasonable prices and relatively acceptable rates of Food security, health and nutrition…..2 admissions of malnourished children to therapeutic feeding centers. Status of this season’s farming and A joint FEWS NET, CILSS, UNICEF, OCHA, Sahel and West Africa Club (OECD) stock-raising activities ................…..4 and WFP fact-finding mission on cross-border trade between Niger and Nigeria and its Market conditions .......................…..5 impact on food security conditions visited the Kano, Katsina (Nigeria) and Maradi Relief measures..........................…..5 (Niger) areas in May of this year. The mission found that the risk of a deterioration in terms of trade to the same magnitude as that of last year is essentially negligible. According to the members of the joint mission, coarse grain prices will most likely level off or even decrease in June/July if the growing season has a good start. Grain-deficit areas could continue to be supplied by trade flows. Preliminary findings by the joint SAP/INS/WFP/SIMA/FEWS NET/FAO mission on economic conditions and household food insecurity should be available by July 10th. Joint monitoring activities in food-insecure areas by the SIMA (Agricultural Market Information System), WFP and FEWS NET show grain prices still holding steady, with small localized drops in prices highly food-insecure areas. However, there are reports of a deterioration in terms of trade for male goats/millet on certain markets in pastoral and agropastoral areas of the country. The growing season has had a slow start and is running considerably late compared with previous years. As of the end of June, any precipitation has been light and confined to localized areas. However, seasonal forecasts by the African Center of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) for the 2006/2007 season predict normal to above-normal rainfall totals for Niger. Thus, all parts of the country are expecting normal to above-normal rainfall. A look at nutrition indicators shows the upsurge in admissions to therapeutic feeding centers reported by NGOs since March continuing into the month of June. This rise in admissions rates is forcing stakeholders such as World Vision, Action Against Hunger (in Maradi), CONCERN, CADEV, CARE (in Tahoua), GOAL (in Zinder), etc. to reopen former therapeutic feeding centers which had been shut down. As far as the bird flu problem is concerned, a new outbreak of the H4N1 strain of bird flu was reported on June 2nd at Maradi, in the village of Boko Maï Gao, in Madarounfa Department. Despite the danger of the spread of the H4N1 virus, there has been a steady rebound in trade, shipping and the consumption of poultry and poultry products. Both supply and demand are up in all poultry markets with the exception of those in infected areas of Magaria (Zinder) and Madarounfa (Maradi), where the income of poultry farmers has plummeted. USAID/Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)-NIGER Tel: 041-532530; 265 15 48 92 - [email protected] World Food Programme-NIGER/VAM; Tel: 00221 72 23 20; Koffi AKAKPO – [email protected] NIGER: FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION UPDATE JUNE 2006 Timeline of major events and warning signs Current Hazards Summary The annual meeting of the Coordination Unit for the National Early Warning System (CC/SAP) on June 20 – 21, 2006 in Maradi reevaluated vulnerability scores. This meeting found continuing food security concerns in 134 areas scattered throughout different livelihood zones. While the general food security situation is still satisfactory, conditions in these areas are making household food access increasingly difficult. This problem could be exacerbated by poor rainfall conditions. With the recent average 4% jump in admissions of malnourished children to therapeutic feeding centers around the country, the government, U. N. agencies and NGOs will need to continue to implement their joint child nutrition assistance program, which have already proven effective. The growing season is getting off to a slow start in the country’s farm belt, which saw its first useful rains in the month of May, which allowed people in 3764 farming villages to begin their planting activities. Without an improvement in rainfall conditions, market supplies could tighten and grain prices will likely rise. The confirmation of a new bird flu outbreak in Madarounfa Department at the beginning of the month poses a serious threat to household livelihoods, particularly in that department and neighboring areas. Food security, health and nutrition Carte 1 : Situation des zones d’insécurité alimentaire The annual meeting of the Coordination Unit for the National Early Warning System (CC/SAP) held on June 20 – 21, 2006 in Maradi reevaluated vulnerability scores. An examination of the new scores shows an increase in the number of food-insecure areas, from 103 in November 2005 to 134, encompassing 2,425 villages with a total population of 2,545,145 residents. There are 7 are newly identified areas with critical levels of food insecurity, including 4 in Bouza Department, 1 in Illela, 1 in Agadez, and 1 in Tahoua and Tillabery districts. Conditions in Goure, Tanout, Boboye, Bouza and Mayahi Departments are deteriorating. Households are facing reported grain and forage deficits Source : SAP, SANI, DPA/PF/MRA and weak local purchasing power, which is very alarming. 2 NIGER: FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION UPDATE JUNE 2006 Resulting income and grain access problems, combined with the problem of weak local capacity, is prompting area residents to resort to coping strategies such as over-reliance on wild plant foods and out-migration to more prosperous areas. This deterioration in household living conditions is confirmed by the survey of household vulnerability to food insecurity problems jointly conducted by the SAP, WFP, FEWS NET, FAO and INS. According to the preliminary survey report, 15% of households are severely food-insecure and another 15% are moderately food-insecure. Extrapolating survey data for a total population of 11,918,521 inhabitants, 1,779,456 persons are severely food-insecure and another 2,091,649 are moderately food-insecure, which brings the total food-insecure population to 3,871,104 persons. A breakdown of this data shows food-insecure households are primarily those households headed by women, widows and widowers. Thus, there is a pressing need to incorporate these new areas into the ongoing monitoring system operated by the National Food Crisis Prevention and Management Network, which had its first meeting in November of last year. On the whole, the household food security situation in other parts of the country is adequate thanks to reasonable prices and good grain availability at local markets. The regular supply of provisions at retail markets around the country, which has helped keep prices down, has been made possible by favorable sub-regional food security conditions, including recent government measures designed to prevent local grain procurements for the rebuilding of the national food security reserve. Households dependent on the poultry industry have seen their purchasing power in an increasingly fragile state due to the economic repercussions of the new bird flu outbreak in Madarounfa Department. The impact of this problem on rural economies is all the more damaging in the face of rising food costs at a time of year when farms need to provide food to their on-farm workforce and household food reserves are dwindling. The return of migrating family members only serves to increase household size and food costs, while at the same time cutting off the inflow of migration income. It is possible that there will be a deterioration in household food security conditions in the days ahead due to uncertainties with respect to the size of the area planted in crops for this growing season. In fact, if the progress of the growing season continues at its currently slow pace, traders may decide to hold onto their inventories, putting pressure on grain availability and grain market prices. Nutritional Conditions The UNICEF assessment of the current nutritional situation shows Figure 1 : Trends in the number of admissions of a rise in the number of admissions of malnourished children to severely and malnourished children to treatment therapeutic feeding centers. However, these are considered normal facilities (January – June 2006) seasonal fluctuations. On average, there are approximately 3,000 new admissions per week, which averages out to a weekly gain of 4% (Figure 1). The government and its development partners have joined forces to closely monitor the nutritional situation and the management of malnutrition problems. Source : UNICEF 3 NIGER: FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION UPDATE JUNE 2006 Status of this season’s farming and stock-raising activities Status of the growing season This season’s farming and stock-raising activities are getting off to an Map 2: Cumulative rainfall (First dekad of extremely slow start. Most of the country’s farm belt is reporting rainfall May to third dekad of June 2006) deficits. Most areas have seen light to moderate rainfall, with the exception of certain locations reporting heavy rainfall, particularly during the second dekad of the month. Rainfall totals in all areas are down from the same time last year (which was considered a good year). Cumulative rainfall totals as of June 20th of this year range from 30 to 110 mm at most of the rainfall gauging stations monitored by FEWS NET.