Livelihood protections deficits are increasing in rural areas

Poor off-season crop production and the large decrease in seasonal revenues have led to market dependence. To access food, poor households in rural areas continue to sell livestock and participate in atypical coping strategies that greatly affect their livelihoods. 

The degradation of pastoral conditions could be slowed down by the decrease in local pastoral herd sizes caused by large sales, transhumance and the government's pastoral assistance program focused on selling livestock feed at half of the market price. 

Markets are still well supplied with imported foods (rice, wheat, sugar, oil, tea and pasta) but their prices are increasing sharply, especially in rural areas, while animal prices are falling.

Many humanitarian institutions do not have stores available due to lack of funding, which limits their ability to assist the poor and very poor groups affected in the western agropastoral zone, in the center of the rainfed zone, in the center of the Senegal River Valley and some pockets of the pastoral zone, oasis and wadis.

The Crisis (IPC Phase 3) situation, which was present until February only in the central portion of the Senegal River Valley and in the west of the agropastoral zone, is now also affecting the center of the agropastoral zone.  Pastoral and rainfed areas are currently in Stressed (IPC Phase 2) with a high probability of moving towards Crisis (IPC Phase 3) between April and June.