Lean season intensifies among poor households at the start of the rainy season

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The effects of the agricultural lean season continue to be felt in rainfed and agropastoral livelihood zones. Farming households in these areas are fully engaged in field work, have depleted their household food stocks, and are increasingly reliant on markets, loans, and donations to meet their food needs. Given high food prices, poor households with low purchasing power are adopting negative coping strategies such as reducing the size and frequency of meals, as well as consuming cheaper, less-preferred foods. These households are facing Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes, with the poorest among them facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes. These outcomes are expected to persist until the harvest begins in October. In Hodh el Chargui, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are widespread due to competition from refugees putting pressure on natural resources and the typical livelihoods of host populations.
Markets remain relatively well supplied with food staples, but prices are often unaffordable for poor households. The supply of local rice has improved markedly with the availability of off-season rice, which has reduced market prices for this item. The supply of agricultural products such as millet, maize, and sorghum increased in July, although still below average compared to a typical start to the rainy season, due to the strong demand for rainfed seeds and the sluggish Malian trade flows affected in particular by government restrictions on trade. This situation is contributing to high prices for these products in most markets in the rainfed zone in July. In the Mauritanian markets close to refugee sites in the Basiknou Moughataa, and in those open to Malian areas with little military and customs control, outflows of products to Mali are relatively high, and stocks on these markets are rapidly replenished from neighboring departmental capitals such as Bassikounou and Nema, or directly from Nouakchott. Overall, prices of most basic foodstuffs are similar to those of last month but remain slightly higher than those of last year.
The start of the rainy season was delayed in most agricultural and agropastoral zones, and rainfall has been poorly distributed both spatially and temporally. However, rainfall improved between mid-July and mid-August in many areas, which has had a positive effect on crop and pasture development. In pastoral areas, grazing conditions, particularly for small ruminants, are beginning to improve. However, grazing is still insufficient for large ruminants in most areas. Overall, prices are beginning to rise as livestock body conditions improve.
In Hodh El Chargui, massive herds of cattle, goats, and sheep are arriving in the Bousta area from communes in the north of the Wilaya in search of better grazing areas. Observations from the field indicate that large numbers of livestock remain concentrated along the border strip—more specifically at Megve and Vassala in the Bassiknou moughataa and in the Adel Bagrou moughataa bordering Mali—due to the continued influx of refugees and Mauritanian returnees from Mali with their livestock. In Guidimakha, there is a high concentration of livestock in the Ajar, Gouraye, and Khabou zones.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Mauritania Key Message Update August 2024: Lean season intensifies among poor households at the start of the rainy season, 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.