West Africa: Poor markets mean hunger in year of plenty

The Sahel zone of West Africa had one of its best cereal-growing seasons on record last year, but pockets of food shortages are already being found in most countries in the region and experts warn that widespread shortages could begin earlier than usual this year.

Over 15 million tonnes of cereal were produced across the Sahel region in the 2006-2007 growing season, around two million tonnes more than is needed to feed the 50 million people that live there, according to data released on Monday by the Sahel and West Africa Club at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Including production in Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, 19 percent more cereal was grown in 2006-2007 than was the average for the five years before. The high overall figure hides the fact that some countries and regions are already experiencing food shortages, said Jean Zoundi, head of the Sahel Club's Rural Transformation and Sustainable Development unit in Paris.

"You can have a good growing season one year but still have at-risk zones the next because the problems are structural," Zoundi said. "Many people are still at risk because they have low incomes and a lot of problems getting access to the markets even if the supply is good, and that's not linked to the fact that we have a good season or not." Marcus Prior, World Food Programme spokesperson in West Africa said, "Movement of large amounts of food supplies in the region doesn't necessarily happen unless there is a financial gain for those trading."

Every year the Sahel region experiences emergency levels of under-nutrition and hunger. The United Nations says that of the 550,000 children who die in the Sahel every year, over 50 percent succumb from causes related to under-nutrition, meaning they would not die if they were not under-nourished.

Zoundi said that in 2007 many families and villages across the Sahel are expected to start running short of food months earlier than usual, even if there is a surplus in the region. Last year's food stocks will start running out in many areas by May, he predicted, three months before the first rains, and five months before the first crops of maize are expected to be brought in.

In Burkina Faso, which accounted for more than half of the regional surplus, there are already "at-risk" zones of short supply. In Niger, another strong producer of cereals, pockets of hunger exist in several regions. In Mauritania, where cultivatable land is decreasing and around 70 percent of the food eaten is imported or donated from abroad, cereal production was actually 7.7 percent lower last year than the average of the five years before, according to data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation.

According to the Sahel Club's data, Mauritania had a deficit of 83,300 tonnes between what it grew in 2006-2007 and what its 3.2 million people need. Agricultural experts say the rice failed in many areas along the Senegal River, and crops inland under-performed.

Senegal is even worse off. It has a 187,100-tonne deficit between production and requirements. Experts blame a poor growing season in the north of the country last year, and poor rice production because the Senegal River did not flood the paddies sufficiently. Rains were also insufficient in several inland areas of Senegal last year.

Chad was also tagged a country of "concern" because of food shortages, including throughout the east of the country where there is currently widespread fighting.

Agricultural experts say areas of Mali also had a poor growing season. This is compounded by problems in the regions where people usually grow cotton to sell for cash to buy food, because of difficult world markets for African commodities.

The Sahel Club said the problem of redistributing regional cereal production is one of the "main problems" facing governments in the Sahel.