Famine Early Warning Systems Network

Pastoral conditions: Pastoral conditions continue to deteriorate throughout Mauritania, in part due to the season, as well as to the increased movement of transhumant herds within the country. While pastoralists from the agropastoral zone have moved their animals into the rainfed farming zone, which has been deserted by herds that have migrated to Mali, those in the north occupy the agropastoral and Senegal River Valley zones, where their presence threatens rice cropping.

Livestock prices: Selling prices for animals are relatively stable, except in the rainfed farming zone,. In this zone, the concentration of transhumant pastoralists selling their animals to buy food has caused the average price of a sheep (the zone's main animal of trade) to fall 8 percent since April.

Despite the drop in prices in the rainfed farming zone, livestock prices in most areas of the country remain high compared to the same period last year (up 5.8 percent in the rainfed farming zone, 18.5 percent in the River Valley, and 68 percent in the oasis zone). Only in the agropastoral zone have prices fallen slightly (down 6.8 percent), with more animals being sold off to purchase feed for the rest of the herd, while currently there are no assistance programs in place for pastoralists. These lower prices have reduced the income available to purchase food.

Cereal crops: Hot off-season rice crops are reaching maturity in the western Senegal River Valley, improving cereal availability for wealthy households. At the same time, work on rainy season crops is under way in the entire zone, offering poor households seasonal income similar to that of an average year.

Work to prepare the land for rainfed crops, which normally starts in June, has not yet begun, even though the season has started early in other countries in the southern Sahel.

Market garden crops: Production of cold season market garden crops is now complete. Due to water scarcity in oasis areas, many farmers have abandoned hot off-season market garden crops.  This has lowered the domestic supply, resulting in increased imports and significant price increases (up from 25 to 60 percent) that will continue to rise during the month of Ramadan (July).

Retail markets: Markets still have adequate stocks of staple foodstuffs (mainly imports) but, as in previous months, the pick-up in cross-border trade flows from Mali (millet, maize, and sorghum) and Senegal (local and imported rice) has not yet yielded seasonal supplies close to those of an average year. Not only will farmers face difficulties in accessing food because they lack the income needed to purchase it, but they will also have problems accessing seeds, which many must obtain by using cereals sold on the market. Sorghum prices are up from April in the oasis and Senegal River Valley zones but remain stable in the rainfed farming zone, which receives most of the sorghum flows from Mali, and in the agropastoral zone, where distributions of free wheat rations have reduced the demand for sorghum. Compared to the same period last year, sorghum prices are up everywhere except in the Senegal River Valley, where they are down 27 percent due to the availability of walo crops and good prospects for hot-off season rice crops. 

With free distributions of food rations and the restocking of village-level food security stocks (SAVS) and boutiques de solidarité (government-subsidized shops), wheat prices are stable everywhere except in the rainfed farming area in Adel Bagrou, where the pick-up in trade flows of traditional cereals from Mali has reduced demand on the market and caused the price of wheat to fall significantly. This trend is similar to the same period last year. The price of imported rice remains stable overall on all markets.

Food access: The arrival of the lean season has made it even more difficult for many poor households to maintain regular, adequate food access. In northern Guidimakha and the M’Bout, Monguel, and Magta Lahjar departments, and the northern reaches of the Bababé and M’Bagne departments, some households are already beginning to experience consumption deficits. The only things slowing the further deterioration of their situation are the free distribution of foodstuffs (wheat and oil) by the government and the smooth functioning of the boutiques de solidarité. In the rest of the rural areas of the south of the country, the early arrival of the lean season has made it difficult for poor households to meet their livelihood protection needs. With the exception of the Senegal River Valley, where the start of the rainy season is providing poor households with job and income opportunities, income from local labor is negligible throughout the country.