Flooding has increased the internally displaced people and disrupted market supplies

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The country is facing persistent acute crisis food insecurity (IPC Phase 3) in the regions of Tillabéry, Tahoua, Diffa, and Maradi as a result not only of conflict but also of flooding caused by heavy rainfall, which has destroyed the homes of over one million people throughout the country, adding to the number of internally displaced people. They use spontaneous sites and schools as shelters but have no cereal stocks and no opportunity to earn an income. However, they do have access to food from food distributions by the government and local communities. In addition, the share of the population in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) has increased from 5 to 15 percent in the regions of Dosso and Agadez, unaffected by the security crisis, and from 20-30 to 35-40 percent in the Tillabéry, Diffa, Tahoua, and Maradi, affected by the security crisis. Flooding has also increased the proportion of the population in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) by 5 to 10 percent in the regions of Tillabéry, Diffa, Tahoua, and Maradi. The nutritional situation is also deteriorating as a result of the effects of insecurity on malnutrition prevention and management activities, combined with water-borne diseases affecting children due to the consumption of polluted and unhealthy water caused by flooding.
Floods also impacted crops, affecting an estimated 14,000 hectares, over 78% of them in the Zinder region. However, the decline in agricultural production due to these floods will be localized because only a few areas of lowland crops are affected. Good yields are anticipated due to favorable water conditions, which will help minimize overall losses. Crops in all agricultural and agropastoral zones continue to benefit from rainfall and phenological development, with millet, sorghum, and cash crops ripening and harvested in all regions since early September, resulting in average agricultural production and average agricultural income opportunities for poor households.
Market supplies are still below average due to the cumulative effects of security and socio-political shocks on internal and cross-border flows, as well as disruptions to the movement of goods and people on roads damaged by heavy rainfall. Prices continue to rise for all cereals. In August 2024, it was estimated that the prices would be between 45 and 53% above the five-year average despite ongoing harvests of the main cereals and cash crops, improving local supply. These challenges to access to food do not stimulate local livestock demand, as do the economic and monetary disruptions in Nigeria and the dysfunctional trade relations with Benin, which reduce export demand for livestock and livestock prices.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Niger Key Message Update September 2024: Flooding has increased the internally displaced people and disrupted market supplies, 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.