Reference Date: 02-April-2013
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FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
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A record crop was gathered in 2012
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The food supply situation has improved significantly in 2012/13 compared to the previous year
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Humanitarian assistance continues to be needed due to the lingering effects of last year food crisis
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Civil strife in northern Mali is also having a serious impact on food security in parts
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Food supply situation improves in the 2012/13 marketing year (November/October)
Seasonably dry conditions prevail. The 2013 cropping season is expected to start in May.
Harvesting of the 2012 rainfed cereal crops was completed in December, while harvesting of recession and off-season crops will be completed in April. Favourable weather conditions throughout the cropping season resulted in a record cereal crop last year. The official estimate puts the 2012 aggregate cereal production at 4.8 million tonnes, an increase of 33 percent over the drought affected crop in 2011 and 27 percent over the average of the past five years. The improved harvest position, coupled with adequate supply in most neighbouring countries is expected to lead to much improved food availability during the 2012/13 marketing year (November-October).
In 2011, dry spells and poor rainfall distribution during the growing period (July to October) resulted in a 20 percent decline in cereal production compared to the previous year.
Prices of coarse grains continue to follow normal seasonal patterns in general
Reflecting last year’s good harvests, markets remain generally well supplied and coarse grains prices continue to follow normal seasonal patterns. For example, in Ouagadougou, milllet prices started increasing in February 2013 after several months of declines. However, in March they were still 5 percent below their levels a year earlier. Prices of imported rice, mainly consumed in urban centres, have remained relatively stable in recent months, in line with trends in international markets. Overall, food prices are likely to continue to follow normal patterns, in view of the relatively high supply levels in the whole region and the stable international rice prices.
Continued assistance is still needed, especially for vulnerable people
In spite of the generally favourable food supply outlook, some 1.8 million people (about 10 percent of the population) will continue to be food insecure mostly as a result of localized rainfall deficits in 2012 and the lingering effects of last year’s food crisis. The food insecure people are located mostly in the Sahel, North and East regions.
Moreover, the country is seriously affected by the influx of refugees from neighbouring Mali. According to UNHCR, there were over 43 600 Malian refugees registered
as of early February 2013, mostly in Oudalan and Soum provinces of the northern Sahel region, which has been already facing food insecurity and high malnutrition rates.