A decline in off-season production and import disruptions affect market supplies of staple foods

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The influx of Sudanese refugees and Chadian returnees into the eastern provinces continues to degrade the livelihoods of host populations, leading to competition over scarce economic opportunities to earn income. As a result, refugees suffer from financial insecurity, which limits their access to food, causing a deficit in food consumption. Solidarity between former refugees and new arrivals, the generosity of some host households, and the intensification of negative coping strategies, in particular begging and the sale of personal belongings, do not enable them to compensate for the gaps in food consumption. They face an acute food insecurity Crisis (IPC Phase 3). However, thanks to food assistance, Assoungha and Kimiti, which host most refugees, are in Crisis! (IPC Phase 3!). In the northern zone, in the Sahara and Sahel provinces, very poor and poor households depend exclusively on markets. However, due to the high prices of basic food products and the low purchasing power of these households, their access to markets to meet their food needs is limited. As a result, they are in an acute food insecurity Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
The decrease in market supplies is observed in most areas of the country due to low cereal availability resulting from the production deficits of the 2023-2024 rainfed and off-season cropping seasons. The supply of local food products is affected by the decline in off-season production. In the Lac province, in the rice-growing basin (Tandjilé, Mayo Kebbi Est), and in the central Sahel (Guéra, Salamat), production of maize, off-season rice, and flood-recession sorghum has been affected by limited access to agricultural inputs and fuel for irrigation. In addition to these tight supplies, rising fuel prices, disruptions to the inflows from Libya, and the non-existence of inflows from Sudan are further limiting the supply of imported food products. This results in pressure on cereal markets in the Sahelian areas and consequently, price increases.
On February 27 and 28, 2024, an intervention by the police forces resulted in the deaths of the leader of the Parti Socialiste sans Frontière (PSF) and several of its members. This situation led to the deployment of security forces in N'Djamena, which has created psychosis among the population, with fears of a worsening socio-political situation in the run-up to the May elections. The movement of goods and people in the capital is hampered by multiple police checkpoints, which also disrupt the livelihood activities of poor households, such as temporary or casual jobs. In the run-up to the presidential election, any deterioration in the security situation could impact the internal trade flows, in particular, the supply of markets in the capital and other regions that depend on it. In addition, the situation could lead to the migration of poor households to more secure rural areas, resulting in an oversupply of labor forces in these regions.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Chad Key Message Update March 2024: A decline in off-season production and import disruptions affect market supplies of staple foods, 2024.

This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here.