A concerning food security situation for both host and IDP households, as well as livestock

In the northern half of the country that is more affected by repeated attacks by armed groups, in addition to the decline in fodder production due to pockets of dryness in September, the concentration of livestock, including those of IDPs, is causing rapid degradation of resources (pastures and water points) in accessible areas. As a result, despite transhumance to new areas (southern Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal), pasture resources will deplete earlier than usual for non-transhumant livestock, and dependence on markets for livestock feed will be greater than usual. In the coming months, the market value of the animals is expected to decrease as their body conditions deteriorate.

The decreased functioning, or even the closure of markets, within communes with difficult access, means that the markets in the more accessible provincial capitals are becoming nearly the only markets that can be visited by foreign and national traders, as well as host households and IDPs. While assistance has reduced demand for cereals in some markets (Djibo, Dori, and Kaya), with prices falling in November. In others the influx of less assisted IDPs has led to an increase in staple food prices compared to the five-year average of about 10 percent in Gorom-Gorom, 20 percent in Arbinda, and 33 percent in Gayéri.

Poor host households’ stocks are low. With the loss of gold panning, one of their main sources of income, the sale of livestock has become the alternative. Market gardening activities have started around accessible water points, but it is limited by financial access to seeds and other inputs.  Paid work opportunities are also limited for IDPs who are then dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Assistance planning (food and cash) for the past month is expected to reach 30 and 22 percent of the population in Soum and Sanmatenga provinces respectively and less than 11 percent in the other provinces such as Yagha, Gnagna, and Komandjoari. As a result, there has been a deterioration of livelihoods, food consumption, and nutritional status in the areas receiving less assistance, which are experiencing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) acute food insecurity. Assistance remains concentrated in accessible urban centers where most IDPs are located, allowing these populations to remain in Stressed (IPC Phase 2!).  In communes with large IDP populations, GAM rates are between 11.2 and 17.6 percent (WFP/UNICEF, SMART rapid, October 2019).