Fsnau-Post-Gu-2012-Technical-Report

Urban Analysis
36
4. intEGrAtEd food SEcurity AnAlySiS
4.1 SOMALIA’S URBAN FOOD SECURITY CRISIS
Overview
The food security assessments carried out from June to July
2012, indicated an improved situation in urban areas of the
country, particularly in the southern regions. However, 450,000
people still face an acute food security crisis, of which 64
percent are in the southern regions. This number is 18 percent
less than the urban population in crisis during the post-Deyr
period (Jan ’12). Out of the total population in food security
crisis, 94 percent are in Crisis (IPC phase 3) and 6 percent
are in Emergency (IPC phase 4) phases. The population in
Emergency is concentrated in the South (5,000 people in
Bakool and 20,000 people in Lower Juba); the population
in Crisis is distributed across the rest of the regions: South
(290,000 people); Central (40,000 people); Northeast (55,000
people); and Northwest (40,000 people).
The improved situation is largely due to the reduced cost
of living driven by a continued decrease in both local and
imported food prices from January to July (refer to the market
section). This trend had a positive effect on the food access
of market-dependent urban households, the majority of whom
do not produce food.
In the South-Central, the cost of the minimum food basket
(CMB) declined by 7 to 12 percent from January to July,
which had a positive impact on the ability of the urban poor to
purchase food. The purchasing power of the urban poor who
primarily rely on casual labour (e.g. portage or construction
works) as a source of income has strengthened. In Banaadir,
the survey results indicate increased access to various income
sources, particularly access to petty trading, skilled labour
and remittances (see the income section). Consequently,
the food security situation of the residents has shown an
improvement whereby the proportion of population with “poor”
food consumption 1 reduced from 22 percent in December 2011
to only 4 percent in July 2012.
However, continued conflicts in Bakool and Lower Juba
regions disrupted trade and economic activities, which
aggravated the food security situation of the urban population
in these regions. Consequently, the cereal and imported food
prices for sugar and vegetable oil have increased by 10 to
17 percent in Bakool and 20 to 25 percent in Lower Juba,
particularly in the Afmadow/Dhobley areas. The Kismayo port
activities, which typically provided labour opportunities for
many urban households, have been severely affected by the
1 Food consumption is measured through the food consumption score (FCS),
which is a composite score based on the dietary diversity, food frequency, and
relative nutritional importance of the various food groups consumed. The higher
the FCS is, the higher the dietary diversity and frequency of consumption will be.
High food consumption increases the possibility that a household achieves nutrient
adequacy. It has to be noted that in urban settings the FCS tends to be higher due
to the increased availability and accessibility of different food types. Thus, it can be
assumed that urban populations with poor FCS are particularly vulnerable.
FSNAU Technical Series Report No. VI 48
Issued October 18, 2012
ongoing conflicts and bombardments since January, drastically
limiting access to labour for the urban poor.
In Bakool, the recurrent conflicts between pro-government
and anti-government militias in parts of the region (Hudur,
Rabdure and Elbarde) severely limited labour availability and
market activities. Consequently, with more people competing
for the meagre labour resources, labour wage rates in the
region declined by 25-40 percent between January and July
this year. The primary sources of income reported among the
lower income groups in these areas include petty trade, limited
casual labour, and self-employment.
The food security situation remained relatively stable in the
northern regions. The pressure on household budgets was
slightly eased by the reduced cost of the food basket from
January to June 2012 (a decline of 3-8%), which is reflected
in the decreased percentage of household spending on food
from an average of 79 percent in January 2012 to 74 percent
(still high) in June 2012. The purchasing power also remained
relatively stable. The reported coping strategies for most of
the households varied from “mild” to “moderate” across the
northern regions (see below).
The nutrition situation in Banaadir significantly improved
from Very Critical (Dec’11) to Serious (Jul’12). The nutrition
situation in Dhusamareeb (Galgaduud) of Central remained
Critical. Due to access and security constraints, nutrition data
was not available in the rest of South-Central. In the North,
the nutrition situation in most regions was Serious, with the
exception of Bari region where it was Critical and Togdheer
and Woqooyi Galbeed regions which are at Alert. The nutrition
situation in all these areas was sustained at previous levels
except Togdheer which deteriorated from Alert (Deyr’12) to
Serious (Gu’12) and in Bari which worsened from Serious
to Critical.
LIVELIHOOD ASSETS
Natural Capital
Portions of the urban poor in the South engage in cultivation
and a significant number in Middle Juba (90%) and Lower
Shabelle (60%) reported that they had cultivated during the
Gu 2012. The proportion in other regions in the South ranged
between 6 and 26 percent. The majority of the urban poor in
Middle Juba, Lower Shabelle, Hiran and Bay reported they
owned the land they cultivated while the urban poor who
cultivated in other regions in the South reported they used
land they rented or obtained through other arrangements.
Sorghum and maize were the key crops cultivated in all the
regions athough crop and fruit production were also reported