Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis Toolkit

Bangladesh is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in its history due to an unprecedented influx of refugees from Myanmar. As of December 2017, the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) estimates that 623,969 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 2017.

2011 was one of the driest years since 1950-51 in many pastoral zones in Ethiopia, leading to extreme food insecurity in the Somali region of the country.This assessment was conducted by Oxfam, Save the Children and Concern in order to determine the market systems' capacities to provide basic food products, including rice, pasta and sorghum, to the rural pastoralist communities during a severe drought and to judge what types of humanitarian responses might be required and feasible to ensure food security of these people during such a crisis situation. It found that all market systems studied seem to have the capacity to meet the respective needs of the population in Siti Zone – even during a severe drought. It suggests that cash based programming is a feasible alternative to in-kind distributions of food in Siti Zone. In this respect it would make sense to advocate for a policy change in the Somali region and try to motivate the responsible authorities to some pilot projects in which the government starts to distribute cash.

This report presents learning from the first pilot study that used the EMMA toolkit to assess an emergency market system. It analyzes how the toolkit was used, what did and did not work well, the training given to participants, the exercise's organization and recommendations for adapting the toolkit for future use. Participants felt that EMMA is an appropriate tool if used not too long after a crisis and that it highlights issues relating to market analysis that are not always well understood by emergency aid workers. However, team members also said that they did not have enough time to understand the toolkit before going into the field and suggested allowing more time for training, analysis and reflection during future assessments.

Currently, northern Sri Lanka is recovering from two different crises: the decades-long civil war between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam that ended in May 2009, and recent flooding due to heavy rainfall in January and February 2011 in the north and east of the country. This report presents the results of a rapid analysis of the rice market system in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka that took place shortly after the floods. The rice market system is functional, although with significant inefficiencies and imbalance of market power that could be ameliorated with interventions. The long-term conflict caused underdevelopment of infrastructure and insufficient services in the region. While direct flood damage in the region was relatively minor, the indirect and ongoing losses caused by unexpected rainy weather are high. Short to medium-term recommendations include supporting storage and irrigation, diversifying production, improving market information and developing small enterprises with mills and equipment. Long-term development suggestions include supporting the growth of farmer organizations, constructing more sophisticated storage and financing options and the facilitation of higher-value rice production.

December 2013 violence in South Sudan had killed thousands and displaced more than 900,000 people. It has also led to a serious deterioration in the food security situation, and some 3.7 million people are at high risk of food insecurity in the coming year. Food partners have so far reached about 865,000 people under the emergency operation between January and April 2014 with most of the food being distributed in-kind. The objectives of this market analysis were for Oxfam to explore alternatives to in-kind food aid in its different areas of interventions and to create a market baseline for three critical market systems, including red sorghum, maize flour and soap. This report recommends the following response activities: advocacy for integrating maize flour into the food aid distributed, and procuring both maize and sorghum food aid through Juba vendors; commodity vouchers for soap distribution; value vouchers as a top-up for basic needs; and conducting market analyses in other Oxfam intervention areas in South Sudan.

Of the four major provinces affected by the monsoon floods in 2010, Sindh was the worst in numbers of people impacted and displaced. Over 30% of the more than 7.2 million flood-affected people in Sindh have been temporarily displaced, and planting for next year’s wheat crop is likely to be delayed. This report summarizes the findings of an inter-agency assessment team that looked at the impact of the devastating monsoon floods of 2010 on market systems in Sindh, Pakistan. Wheat flour, livestock fodder, agricultural labor, and bamboo/timber poles markets were selected for the assessment. The overall objective of the response options for the agricultural commodities is to restore the income of small farmers and agricultural laborers and strengthen their role in agricultural production and recovery. For the shelter materials, the objective is to support the repair and/or replacement of flood-damaged houses through local market systems, by promoting disaster-resistant construction technologies.

The people of Rakhine State have suffered a long history of inter-communal conflict. Existing tensions between Buddhists and Muslims erupted into violent conflict in June and October 2012, resulting in massive population displacement and destruction of public and private properties, with many people injured or killed. The Consortium of Dutch NGOs led this EMMA study to investigate the potato and chemical fertilizer market systems. Among this report's most important recommendations are the distribution of vouchers for high energy food rations to vulnerable populations for households involved in casual labor and/or self employed; cash for work for populations that are involved in casual labor; cash grants for households to access vegetables and vegetable seeds; cash grants for households with access to land for purchase of production inputs; and model community savings and loan schemes or community micro-credit.

As the Syrian conflict enters its third year, the influx of refugees into neighboring countries continues to rise exponentially. In Jordan there are currently over 540,000 refugees, who are placing increasing pressure on service provision and infrastructure, including the already-strained water supply system. This EMMA assessment was planned and designed to inform an ECHO-funded project, Humanitarian Response and Assistance for People Affected by the Syrian Crisis, by analyzing water access and the water market in the pre- and post-crisis contexts, as well as during the winter and summer months in the current year. It found that, while water is available to meet the minimum needs of the targeted population, people’s access to water (particularly from May to September) depends primarily upon their purchasing power, geographic location, and water storage capacity. This report recommends supporting drinking water access through water vouchers linked to local water vendors and transporters, the provision of water filters at household level and increased water storage capacity for households as well as campaigns to promote water conservation and public health.

This EMMA study looked at the impact of the post-election violence of 2010-11 on the dried fish sector in western Cote d'Ivoire. The violence resulted in reduced numbers of market actors in the market system, interruptions in the supply chain due to insecurity, higher prices and the reduced purchasing power of vulnerable households. This report recommends unconditional cash transfer programs targeting vulnerable households, complemented by voucher programs for specific food items, along with various types of support to fish farmers and actions to promote social cohesion and the re-establishment of the rule of law.