Tropentag, October 5 - 7, 2011 in Bonn "Development on the margin"

The Assessment of Food Vulnerability in Sahel Countries: Case of the Early Alert System of Niger

University of Liege, Dept. of Economics and Rural Development, Belgium

Abstract

In this poster, an original methodology of the assessment of food vulnerability is explained and implemented. The definition of food vulnerability is « the analysis of adaptation mechanisms and reaction faced with a difficult situation. If the mechanisms aren't effective, the household is in a temporary or structural vulnerability situation » (SAP and INS, 2010). The early alert system of Niger has existed since 1989. This system analyses the food vulnerability in vulnerable area every year and every month. This analysis identifies the area and population most at risk. Every year, at the end of the agricultural campaign, the monitoring draws up a vulnerability index. This index varies between zero and one hundred. Each department is classified in four classes: famine condition (from 76 to 100) ; extremely vulnerable (51 to 75) ; vulnerable (26 to 50) ; relatively vulnerable (0 to 25). The calculation of this index is realised from data in an identification form. In this form, ten variables are identified: the pluviometric situation (9 points); the food producing situation (50 points); the cash crop (50 points); the pastoral situation (50 points); the income sources (50 points); the market state (10 points); the nutritional and health situation (6 points); the alert component (5 points); the adjustment capacities (10 points); the diagnosic of the previous year (10 points). The notation is obtained after application of a weighting on some variables. This assessment is the only methodology that analyses all departments of the Republic of Niger. However, this analysis doesn't consider the economical and physical accessibility and the level of this analysis is too extent. In the future, this level should be more detailed.

Keywords: Assessment, early alert system, food, Niger, vulnerability

Contact Address: Andres Ludovic, University of Liege, Dept. of Economics and Rural Development, Passage des Déportés N°2, Gembloux, Belgium, e-mail: landresulg.ac.be