Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis Toolkit

Very brief summary notes on an EMMA conducted on the olive oil market system at the start of the Syrian crisis.

For over two decades, Somalia has been in a state of complex humanitarian crisis, with socio-economic, political and environmental factors leading to widespread conflict, drought, flooding and numerous other recurrent human and natural disasters.

Heavy rainfall beginning in July 2010 caused flooding in most districts in Pakistan, affecting 20 million people, destroying field crops and killing large numbers of livestock. In addition, the floods led to acute shortages of feed for the animals that survived, putting an estimated 800,000 animals at risk in the coming winter. This report summarizes the baseline and post-flood situation of the wheat seed market system in Punjab and KPK Provinces and the wheat flour market system in Sindh. Cash transfer programs (grants, cash for work and vouchers), direct distribution of wheat seeds and wheat flour in very specific areas, and food security interventions such as diversification of crop production and strengthening of alternative income sources are some of the study's basic recommendations, along with further food security assessments and coordination and advocacy work.

As a result of post-election violence (PEV), a large number of small-scale farming households in the Endebess area of Kwanza District were displaced. In the process of displacement and violence, households lost key productive assets and structures as well as savings and access to income. This report presents the results of a pilot of the nascent EMMA approach with two main purposes: better understanding critical market systems for the population directly and indirectly affected by PEV, and gaining experience that could be used to improve the toolkit itself. The study examined the impact of the crisis on the area's microfinance market system in order to evaluate the appropriateness of a cash-based response to support poor, small-scale farming households and to identify any necessary additional market support interventions. This assessment recommends the implementation of Cash-for-Work programs for poor, small-scale farming households and cash grants for business re-startup for poor households who are excluded from the government debt relief programs, accompanied by advocacy to government and microfinance institutions.

In December 2013, the political fall-out between the president of South Sudan and his former vice president led to a gradual escalation of violence with wide ranging implications: the displacement of populations and their livestock, the disruption of agricultural production and the obstruction of trade routes and markets. These problems were further compounded by the severe impacts of a ban on trade between South Sudan and Sudan and by the seasonal flooding that occurred in 2014. This EMMA study examined the sorghum and livestock off-take market systems in Abiemnhom County, Unity State, approximately a year after the start of the conflict. It finds that the sorghum, cattle and shoats market system were functional, although there were significant disruptions, inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Short-term recommendations include supporting household purchasing power through food vouchers and unconditional cash transfers, as well as targeted support to businesses to reduce the risk of inflation.

In 2012, violence in the Sudanese border regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile States generated huge influxes of people crossing the border from Sudan to seek refuge and assistance in South Sudan. Over half of the refugees settled in Maban County, and by early 2013, refugees represented more than half of the local population. Solidarités International commissioned a rapid market assessment using the EMMA methodology and two HEA livelihood baseline assessments in Maban County in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the livelihoods of refugees and host community members in the affected area and to ultimately enhance the design of Solidarités International and other aid agencies' food security and livelihoods interventions. It examined the sorghum, livestock and vegetable markets among the host and refugee communities. Overall, market systems in Maban County are dynamic and have responded effectively to increased demand, but local livelihoods are also constrained by limited cash income. Based on these findings, this assessment recommends a comprehensive package including cash transfers, seeds vouchers and dairy vouchers for the low-income refugee households, as well as a cash crop-focused strategy for middle-income host and refugee households that reevaluates the market systems for sorghum, maize, sesame, honey, and vegetables.

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.

On December 15, 2013, fighting broke out in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, and the conflict quickly spread to other areas of the country. Nearly 709,000 people were displaced within the country, leading to a food security crisis and extreme insecurity. Mercy Corps, Goal and SPEDP organized this EMMA assessment between February and March 2014 in Abyei Administrative Area, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. Sorghum was selected as a critical market system for the assessment given its importance for food security for the local households. During the emergency year, the market was not only affected by the crisis, but also by a severe flood. This assessment recommends in-kind provision of sorghum to increase food availability; cash transfers to increase purchasing power; commodity vouchers for extremely vulnerable households; and direct distribution of seeds and commodity vouchers for tools during the upcoming planting season.

South Sudan faces chronic food insecurity. This study of markets in three South Sudanese states looks at the appropriateness of cash transfer programming in food security responses and assesses whether markets could respond adequately to increased demand without causing inflation. During the emergency year, vulnerable households in all three states faced a severe deficit in their ability to purchase basic foods due to severely reduced yields and decreased income levels. The sorghum market saw higher prices, lower demand and high inflation. The report suggests that supporting purchasing power alone will not be sufficient to meet people’s needs because of the risk of inflation. Therefore, this assessment suggests activities designed to improve the functioning of the market in addition to improving consumers' purchasing power. Contingency funds and other flexible funding are recommended to limit risks associated with this volatile environment. It is also advised that short-term programs need to be coherent with longer-term ones that focus on addressing the chronic issues that inhibit resilience building.