Good food availability across the country
KEY MESSAGES
Current harvest activities, continuing assistance programs, good milk availability, ongoing farming and fishing, favorable pastoral conditions, and downward shifts in cereal prices since September are improving food availability. At least 80 percent of the population will meet their food needs between now and the end of December during the postharvest period.
While the majority of the population should meet their food needs, pockets of food insecurity remain (rice-growing areas along the Senegal River in Timbuktu and Gao and along the Bani River in Djenné), where up to 20 percent of the population faces production and income deficits, requiring the continuation of well-targeted assistance programs for poor households and IDPs.
While official crop production figures for the 2012-2013 growing season have not yet been released, in general, the harvest is looking good and is likely to exceed the five-year average.
Cereal prices in general and particularly for corn and sorghum are decreasing. Staple cereal prices on most markets tracked by FEWS NET are above the five-year average by five to 10 percent (corn and sorghum) and by more than 50 percent in the case of millet.