Conflicts continue to disrupt livelihoods and access to food for poor households

• With persistent conflicts in the Tillabéry, Tahoua, Diffa, and Maradi regions, poor households are unable to carry out their seasonal livelihood activities and earn insufficient income for their access to food. In the Tillabéry and northern Tahoua regions, in addition to the loss of their livelihoods, insecurity limits poor households' access to food assistance and therefore reduces their food consumption. Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are likely to persist. However, the presence of security forces in Diffa and southern Maradi allows poor households to have access to food assistance in a sufficient quantity to cover their daily needs, sustaining Stressed! (IPC Phase 2!) outcomes.

• Despite the availability of cereals (maize, millet, and sorghum), which is higher than last year in most markets, supply is still below the five-year average due to export restrictions in Burkina Faso and Mali that disrupt the flow of food products. Average commodity prices, such as maize, millet, and sorghum, rose by 12, 9, and 8 percent, respectively, compared with the five-year average. However, millet and maize prices are, respectively, 14 and 30 percent higher than the five-year average in the Agadez, Diffa, Maradi, Tillabéry, and Zinder markets. High prices reduce poor households' access to consumer products, the majority of whom are unable to make non-food expenditures.

• The pastoral situation is characterized by the continued transhumance of animals, whose mobility is guided by the availability and accessibility of residual pasture and water. The animals’ weights are average, and prices are 18, 15, and 12 percent higher than the five-year average for rams, bucks, and bulls, respectively. However, the effects of the fodder deficit in the pastoral areas of Maradi, Tahoua, and Tillabéry are reflected in the decline of the weight and prices of animals in the main markets. This is the case in the markets of Dakoro, Abalak, Ayorou, Mangaïsé, Téra, Mayahi, and Tchintabaraden, where the prices of goats have decreased by 17 and 37 percent from the average, and consequently the terms of trade are below the normal threshold of 100 kg of millet for a goat. Therefore, households can meet their food consumption needs but cannot protect their livelihoods.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Niger Key Message Update May 2023 : Conflicts continue to disrupt livelihoods and access to food for poor households, 2023.