Attacks by armed groups persist, threatening agricultural and pastoral activities.

The security situation remains precarious in the Liptako Gourma and Lake Chad Basin due to the recurrence of attacks by armed groups, which have decreased overall, as usual, due to the rains hampering movement. However, in the Tillabéry region, the number of security incidents recorded in the 1^er semester of 2021 is estimated at 126 cases compared with 122 cases in 2020 at the same period, and this increase could be due to the delayed rains recorded this year compared with the year at the same period in this region. These security incidents caused a total of 322 civilian casualties in 2021 compared with 83 in 2020, and a total of 19,575 more internally displaced people in 2021 than in 2020 at the same period. The continuing activities of armed militias in the Tillabéry, Tahoua and Diffa regions are disrupting the movement of rural producers to access agricultural and pastoral livelihood zones, and are a factor reducing agricultural and pastoral production opportunities.

Thanks to the rainfall recorded, the sowing coverage rate continues to improve, rising from 26% and 60% respectively in the second and third dekads of June 2021, to 96% in the second dekad of July 2021. At the same time in 2020, 12,333 farming villages had carried out sowing operations, i.e. 96%. The animals have begun their gradual return to their homelands, although this depends on the availability of pasture and water, and above all on the security status of the Tillabéry, Diffa and northern Tahoua zones. Concentrations of livestock are found along the Niger River in the Tillabéry region, in the Abalak department in the Tahoua region, and in the basin areas and certain pastoral zones in the Diffa region.

Market supply is generally satisfactory. However, it remains below average. The decline is most noticeable for maize and sorghum, due to the significant reduction in incoming flows, particularly from Nigeria, strong demand in supply countries and very high transport costs. Local demand is also constant on the markets, but institutional purchases are continuing at higher-than-average levels due to increased needs for humanitarian interventions. This has led to a significant increase of 15 to 35% in most markets compared with the same period last year and the average for the last five years, and is reducing food accessibility for vulnerable households, the majority of whom can only cover their food needs thanks to food assistance. Presentations and sales are stable for large ruminants, while those for small ruminants are on the rise due to preparations for the Tabaski holiday, resulting in terms of trade generally in favor of livestock farmers.

Food assistance operations in the form of cash, food and cash plus food continue to benefit identified vulnerable populations, at least 50% of whom are beneficiaries in the Diffa region and southern Maradi. However, they are not reaching, or are only reaching to a limited extent, populations in areas of civil insecurity, notably the majority of displaced households in Tillabery and North Tahoua, where less than 20% of needs are covered. Overall, Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes are expected in agricultural and agro-pastoral zones, with Stressed ! (IPC Phase 2 !) in the Diffa region and the south of the Maradi region, and Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes in the north and center of the Tillabéry region and in the north of the Tahoua region.