5/30/2018 Cameroon - Key Message Update: Wed, 2018-05-30 Published on Famine Early Warning Systems Network (http://fews.net) West Africa Cameroon This country is monitored by FEWS NET staff in a neighboring country Key Message Update Poor households face a decrease in food consumption in the Extreme North region May 2018 Key Messages: In the principle markets of the extreme north (Maroua, Kousseri, Yagoua, Kaele, Mokolo, Mora), the prices of main staple foods remained stable overall in April compared March. Overall though prices are higher than the five-year average (about 30 percent for rainfed sorghum, 40 percent for dry season sorghum, and 12 percent for maize). The ban on cereal exports and maize imports from Nigeria and sorghum and rice from Chad thanks to the opening of certain trade routes (Fotokole- Gambarou, Gobo-Guere), favors an average supply of goods at markets. Continuing insecurity in the arrondissements near Lake Chas and the border with Nigeria which is characterized by attacks by Boko Haram and the theft of livestock, limits pastoralists’ transhumance from arid areas in the south where water and pasturelands are insufficient. Livestock prices remain below-average and terms of trade do not favor pastoralists. Except for the central market in Maroua, the sale of a goat in most markets does not pay enough money to purchase 50kg of cereal. At the end of this market gardening season, onion prices have improved compared to the previous month, but remain 30 percent below the five-year average in the main production areas (Mayo Kani, Mayo Tsanaga, Mayo-Sava). Normally the lean season begins in June, but since mid-April, the majority of poor host households and displaced people have depended completely on markets with limited incomes. As a result, they have reduced the number of meals consumed per day from three to two. Some households have substituted rice for sorghum because of its higher price. Food distribution, in Logone-Et-Chari and Mayo-Sava Departments, is focused on refugees and some displaced people, and will reach 17 percent of the population facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) food insecurity during the period from June to September. Region Contact Information: Email: [email protected] Source URL: http://fews.net/west-africa/cameroon/key-message-update/may-2018 http://fews.net/print/west-africa/cameroon/key-message-update/may-2018 1/2 5/30/2018 Cameroon - Key Message Update: Wed, 2018-05-30 FEWS NET is a USAID-funded activity. The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the view of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. http://fews.net/print/west-africa/cameroon/key-message-update/may-2018 2/2.