Figure 1. Livelihood zones in Mauritania FULL-SIZE IMAGE Source: FEWS NET

Poor flood-recession crop harvests and the slowdown in cross-border trade with Senegal and Mali for coarse grains are causing food security difficulties for households in livelihood zones dependent on rainfed crop production (zone 6) and agropastoral production (zone 5) (Figure 1). Water access problems in pastoral areas (Figure 1, zones 4, 2 and 1) have forced camel herders to abandon lush grazing lands and fan out into agropastoral areas earlier than usual. This premature migration is creating overgrazing problems, forcing cattle and sheep herders to push up the date of their own seasonal migration southwards or into Mali.

The limited availability of coarse grains in Mauritania is driving prices up sharply. Households are turning to imported grain (Asian rice and wheat from sources other than Senegal), the prices for which are spiraling upward despite good market supplies. Water access problems in Aftout (in the western reaches of the agropastoral zone), southeastern Hodh Ec Chargui and rainfed farming areas of Adrar and Inchiri (Figure 1, zone 2) have contributed to the rise in food insecurity and child malnutrition levels in these areas, where the only major source of food access for local households are village-level food security reserves (SAVS) set up by the World Food Program (WFP). Households in the Senegal River Valley have been unable to supplement production shortfalls with local cereal purchases due to a slowdown in cross-border trade in millet, corn and sorghum, and the monopolization by grain traders on urban markets of imported Asian rice that is transshipped through Senegal.

March prices for livestock are 10 percent higher than in February.

Market conditions

Despite significant increases in trade with Mali, sorghum, millet and corn prices are still on the rise, and becoming increasingly steep as the lean period settles in. Coarse grain prices were relatively stable throughout the last quarter of 2006, but jumped 53.8 percent between January and March of this year. Increasing prices are due, on one hand, to low supplies as a result of the poor national harvest and the decrease in exports by Senegal and Mali and, on the other hand, to seasonal upswings in prices as the lean period approaches. The steepest hike in prices thus far was between February and March, with flood-recession sorghum prices jumping from 280 to 380 UM and rainfed sorghum prices climbing from 140 to 200 UM. Wheat prices, which had been stabilized by the start-up of the second phase of the SAVS, resumed their upward momentum, climbing from 90 UM/kg in January to 110 UM in March. These price hikes are most likely a result of poor lowland and irrigated crop harvests and shortages in certain village-level food security reserves. One of the only downward movements in prices was a 10 UM/kg drop in the price of rice imported from Senegal, reflecting an increase in these imports. Prices for cowpeas, which outperformed sorghum crops, have also fallen by 10 UM since February. All domestic markets have good supplies of imported grain crops, but trade in Senegalese millet and sorghum is still slow due to the poor grain harvest in that country. Trade with Mali, while more brisk than between November and January, is still slower than usual.

There are ample supplies of small animals on livestock markets due to increased sales by herders and agropastoral households looking to buy grain, and decreased business since the end of the holiday season. However, despite these large supplies, animal price continue to rise, stabilizing terms of trade in agropastoral and pastoral areas.

Farming conditions

The growing season for irrigated rice and flood-recession sorghum crops is almost over. Production figures are running below October forecasts, due, in part, to seed access and farming problems which decreased the areas planted, and attacks by grain-eating birds and stalk borers.

Conditions in pastoral areas

Seasonal migration by cattle and sheep is picking up, but large tracts of grazing lands for camel herds have been abandoned prematurely due to a lack of water. The condition of pasturelands in western and central Trarza, central and southern Brakna and northern Gorgol is rapidly deteriorating due to overgrazing problems created by the influx of herders from the north. This is hurting small-scale herders who are unable to migrate and creating growing numbers of pockets of food insecurity. The pressure from grazing animals has been further heightened by the proliferation of brush fires spread by constant heavy winds. Despite these issues, animal health is generally good, and vaccination drives are under way.

Plant health conditions

The locust situation remains under control and, with the end of the harvest season, pressure from grain-eating birds is gone. However, flood-recession crops in “walo” areas of Gorgol, Aftout, Hodh el Chargui and Hodh el Gharbi sustained heavy damage from these pests, as well as from stalk borers.

Food security conditions

The shortfall in local crop production and slowdown in cross-border trade, combined with the effects of water access problems and rising prices for food products, have visibly heightened the level of food insecurity in farming and agropastoral areas in the central and northern reaches of the Senegal River Valley, transhumant pastoral areas and northern enclave areas.

In addition, the WFP and UNICEF recently released the findings of a nutritional survey conducted last December. The survey found that the variety and staggered timing of different farming systems in the Senegal River Valley (“dieri” or rainfed highland crops, “walo” or flood-recession, lowland and irrigated crops) tend to provide local households with extra food supplies that help keep child malnutrition levels in check. As a result, there is little chronic malnutrition in these areas. However, this year’s poor harvest of rainfed crops has compounded the effects of the poor 2006 harvest of flood-recession crops – the main source of grain for households in the Valley – driving up rates of acute malnutrition.

Figure 2. Prevalence of malnutrition in Mauritania, by area, and malnutrition map FULL-SIZE IMAGE FULL-SIZE IMAGE FULL-SIZE IMAGE FULL-SIZE IMAGE FULL-SIZE IMAGE FULL-SIZE IMAGE Source: MSAS/ONS/UNICEF/ANED; February 2007

Changes in eating habits (the replacement of sorghum and rice by wheat) and the lack of protein in the local diet have also contributed to the current deterioration in nutritional status. Ever since the construction of the Manantalli Dam, there has been considerably less runoff from the river flooding fields for the planting of “walo” crops and reduced fish consumption among area households (families in the Valley tend to eat meat only on holidays and during other celebrations). Very few households can afford to buy the frozen sardines caught in Nouakchott sold at between 80 and 120 UM per unit. The poorest households are reliant on dried fish also brought in from Nouakchott and cowpeas, which are currently selling at between 300 and 400 UM/kg.

Figure 3. Terms of trade on the Boghé market, March 2007 FULL-SIZE IMAGE Source: FEWS NET

The chronic malnutrition prevalent in other parts of the country is linked to many of these same causes. However, unlike the Senegal River Valley, these areas are dependent on a single farming system, and the high rates of poverty in these areas limit the purchasing of foodstuffs on local markets. The opening of 360 new Community Feeding Centers (CACs) targeting 18,400 children and 14,000 mothers, in addition to the 260 existing centers already serving 10,000 children and 6,000 mothers, should help bring down current levels of malnutrition, particularly in light of improvements in their targeting and geographic distribution.

Current terms of trade (Figure 3) benefit herders and agropastoralists engaged mainly in livestock activities. For farm families, the lean period has already set in, forcing them to step up traditional coping mechanisms (the sale of a small animals, out-migration and borrowing) to purchase wheat sold from the SAVS.