Food security and lean season management: The government releases over 7.2 billion CFA francs, key measures of Al Aminou

Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo chaired an inter-ministerial meeting on Thursday, August 6, dedicated to food security and managing the lean season. Following the meeting, the government adopted several measures aimed at addressing the immediate needs of vulnerable populations while sustainably strengthening the country's resilience to food insecurity.

The main decision concerns the allocation, no later than August 12, 2026, of a total budget of 7,202,737,225 CFA francs. This sum will be distributed among several operational structures: 727.7 million CFA francs for the National Nutrition Development Council (CNDN), 2.64 billion CFA francs for the National Solidarity Fund for cash transfers, 700 million CFA francs to the Food Security and Resilience Commission for the distribution of food kits, and 3.13 billion CFA francs to the Livestock Directorate for pastoral assistance.

The head of government also requested that a meeting of the National Food Security Council be held before August 30th in order to define a sustainable strategy for managing food security for the population and livestock.

In the immediate future, departmental development committees (CDD) will be organized from the week of August 10 in the departments of Bambey, Goudiry, Salémata and Ranérou in order to establish a precise diagnosis of the food situation of the populations and their livestock.

The government also calls on technical and financial partners, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to align their interventions with the priorities of the National Resilience Plan (PNR) 2026, to share their action plans with the Technical Secretariat of the National Food Security Council and to mobilize additional resources, particularly through corporate social responsibility mechanisms.

The relevant ministries have been instructed to mobilize their operational structures without delay to ensure the deployment of food assistance, taking into account the consequences of the floods in the affected areas.

The plan also includes the implementation of a daily monitoring system for interventions, the development of a matrix specifying the responsibilities of each actor and a consolidated mechanism to monitor the execution of the PNR 2026, the resources mobilized, the beneficiaries covered as well as the needs remaining to be met.

On the health front, the Prime Minister called for increased screening and treatment of acute malnutrition in children, as well as strengthened nutritional assistance for pregnant and breastfeeding women in priority areas.

Regarding the livestock sector, the relevant ministries are responsible for ensuring the rapid implementation of the livestock safeguarding operation, particularly through the acquisition, transport and transparent distribution of livestock feed in deficit areas.

Beyond the emergency response, the government intends to strengthen structural measures. In particular, it plans to work with development partners to ensure sustainable financing for the replenishment of the national food security stockpile, prioritizing purchases from local producers to support economic sovereignty.

Resilience programs will also be developed in areas most vulnerable to food insecurity, while the One Health approach will be studied for integration within the National Food Security Council. This approach aims to better address food safety, the prevention of zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, the surveillance of emerging animal diseases, and the sanitary quality of foodstuffs.

Finally, a strengthened monitoring system for at-risk areas will be put in place in order to anticipate difficulties in accessing food aid that may be aggravated by floods and high water.