Sahel Region Threatened By Looming Food Crisis

25 November 2011

Poor rains in the Sahel have led to depleted crop yields and pastures. In late October the government of Niger announced that this year’s harvest has left a deficit of more than 500,000 tons of cereals, meeting a mere 14 per cent of the population’s annual needs. With communities still reeling from the effects of the severe drought of 2009-2010 which affected 10 million people, hundreds of thousands of people now face food shortages. Whilst these shocking figures can partly be attributed to a poor rainy season, the most concerning factor in this developing situation lies in the extreme fragility of the population.

“There have not been two consecutive years of good harvests since the drought of 2005. Whilst this year’s drought is no worse than in 2004-2005, communities have been unable to recover from the previous food crises and are struggling to cope with even the slightest additional shock,” explains Patricia Hoorelbeke, ACF’s representative for West Africa. “Many vulnerable households have already depleted their food and economic reserves, and the impact of the general rise in food prices, combined with lower remittances from Libya and Ivory Coast further reduces their capacity to cope with the poor harvests this year."

In view of this situation, a regional food crisis is looming, affecting Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad. The World Food Programme estimates that some one million people are in urgent need of food in Niger, whilst some 700,000 people are facing severe food insecurity in Mauritania. The government of Burkina Faso has already declared over a third of municipalities as food insecure.

The impact of exchange rates

Production shortfalls are particularly problematic given that food prices are already increasing in many areas across the Sahel. The unfavourable exchange rate between the Nigerian currency and the West African CFA franc also risks impacting on rising prices and hence reduce the amount of food coming into circulation in the Sahelian markets.

“Nigeria exports cereal to neighbouring countries such as Niger,” says Patricia Hoorelbeke. “Traders based in Nigeria buy up produce in Niger, store it, and re-export it to Niger when prices are rising. However, the exchange rate between the Nigerian Naira and the CFA franc, alongside pockets of low food production in northern Nigeria, could encourage traders to limit the re-export of food stocks to neighbouring countries and speculate on food prizes. This in return would reduce the food supplies available to populations in neighbouring countries, who are already struggling to access food.”

The impact of the crises in Ivory Coast and Libya also risks exacerbating the situation. The loss of remittances from migrant workers forced to return home puts great economic stress on households and affects their ability to buy enough food to feed their families.

Consequently, many families have no alternative but to reduce the number of daily meals. According to studies conducted by Action Against Hunger in the area of Ansongo / Menaka in Mali, 75 per cent of households reduced the number of meals per day in October, a huge increase from the 65 per cent who did so during the same period last year. The number of children at risk of malnutrition increased by 5 per cent in the area over the last three months as a result of such food insecurity.

ACF launches regional prevention strategy

Given the current food production shortages, the next hunger season -- an annually recurring period when supplies of food have dwindled, little is available to buy at the market, and food prices rise --is predicted to start earlier and be more severe than usual.

Action Against Hunger has already developed an effective strategy to respond to the situation in Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso with programmes including financial support for the most vulnerable households and food distributions for children.

“It is crucial to act now, before the next hunger season, to prevent another food crisis and mitigate the impact of food insecurity on the nutrition of young children in the weeks and months ahead,” said Patricia Hoorelbeke. "Actions taken today will determine whether we can avoid another large-scale food crisis in the Sahel."