WFP Logistics

In the last 18 months, Benin has been negatively impacted by a sharp increase in prices for international imported food commodities as well as locally grown products.

The price of maize compared to last year has increased to 200%. The price of rice which alone constitutes 8% of total food imported has increased by 30% despite the Government of Benin effort.
The major impacts are the increase in the number of forced marriages, the higher risk of malnutrition in vulnerable areas, the general decrease of primary education rates, the increase of urban crimes and unemployment and the risk of increase of the child trafficking especially in rural areas.

Since Dec 2007, the Government of Benin has been facilitating the importation of food commodities:

The Customs duties have been totally cut on the imported food commodities,
The Tax credits granted to large-scale importers,
The Constitution of buffer stock,
The Price cup for a specific food basket,
The development of an Emergency Agriculture Programme.

Few months after, precisely in June 2008, the GoB requested assistance. Many events the situation has been complicating. The cost of fuel has doubled from 1st of July, the cost of living is increasing dramatically. Local media report daily on the impact of the cost of fuel and food. In the urban area , the high shock prices has increased the numbers of homelessness and Zemidjans (taxi motorbike).

With a total tonnage of 2667 MT provided by WFP, the first intervention is concerned 132 communities (76645 beneficiaries consisted of children and households) who have received assistance via public primary schools in the regions of Alibori and Borgou where the education rates are the lowest in the country. Food distribution has been done with the support of the National Directorate of WFP (Direction Nationale des Projets PAM) who is the local government counterpart and the Associations of Students Parents at community levels.

A second intervention concerns the assistance of vulnerable populations in rural areas of Atacora where we note the highest malnutrition rate 16 %. The beneficiaries consisted of a 2-month preventive blanket feeding though direct food distribution to 30,948 pregnant ant lactating women and 127,827 children under 5. This operation was done with the local government counterpart authorities CPS (Centre de Promotion Sociale) with a total tonnage of 2186 Mt for children under 5 and 529 MT for pregnant and lactating women.

Finally, WFP will assist 1500 Zemidjans in a food for training activity in Southern urbans regions. The beneficiaries will be the older drivers (40-65) years old who constitute the age group with the highest road accident rate. The attendants will receive a total quantity of 266 MT of food commodities. This assistance will be effective with the support of the Agriculture Research Centre of Songhai and the Taxi-Moto Trade Union.

In the medium term, a food for cash programme is also recommended to assist the local Agricultural and engineering project in the northern districts of Malanville and Karimama in order to mitigate the impact of seasonal floods on local crop production.
Also, WFP has assisted the populations of Adjohoun and Dangbo in the Department of Ouémé with a tonnage of 10 Mt of food commodities when the floods has destroyed all the seeds and the housings.