The persistence of the blockades is accentuating food consumption gaps in the far north.

In addition to violence against civilians, road infrastructure is increasingly being targeted by militant armed groups, preventing supplies to the main markets and accentuating the impact of blockades on households in the far north of the country. In the Soum and Oudalan provinces and surrounding communes, poor households and internally displaced people are forced to intensify and multiply extreme consumption and livelihood strategies, and are facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes.

On the whole, the rainy season has set in early or on time in the country. Since the first dekad of July, rains have been steady, enabling planting operations to intensify, especially in accessible areas. Insecurity and difficulties of access to fertilizers are the major factors limiting planting.

In the main cotton and maize production zones, there is strong demand from growers for fertilizer. As state subsidies are insufficient and overdue, large-scale producers are putting their residual maize stocks on the market to buy fertilizers and phytosanitary products at twice the usual price. But the income from this sale is below average, due to the drop in production over the past season. As a result, they are reducing their cereal acreage and substituting it with legumes.

At the peak of the lean season, households are more dependent than usual on markets for their food. Prices for staple cereals remained atypically high levels compared with last year and the five-year average, respectively: 45 and 75 percent for maize, 63 and 73 percent for millet, 74 and 85 percent for sorghum. Staple food prices have more than doubled compared with the average in the blockaded areas, particularly in the markets of Titao, Djibo and Markoye. Buck prices are down 22 and 23 percent respectively on the Dori and Gorom-Gorom markets compared with last year, and buck/millet terms of trade have also deteriorated by 43 and 50 percent respectively compared with normal.