Humanitarian Academy › Food security

Day 5 of 7 · 6 hours · Level 2 Intermediate

Markets, rations and transfer values

Learning objectives for today
  • Monitor markets and interpret terms of trade.
  • Design a ration in line with Sphere standards.
  • Calculate the minimum expenditure basket and a transfer value.

1Monitoring markets

Market monitoring records, weekly or monthly, the prices of key commodities, their availability, traders' restocking times and households' physical access. Joint initiatives such as the JMMI or WFP price monitoring make it possible to compare areas.

Always compare a price with a reference: the previous month, the same period last year, the five-year average. A rise of 20 to 25% in a short time deserves an alert. Rapid analysis tools (rapid market assessment, EMMA, CaLP's minimum standard for market analysis) help decide whether a cash transfer is feasible.

2Terms of trade

Terms of trade measure what a household gets by selling what it produces. For a herder: how many kilos of cereals does selling a goat buy? For a day labourer: how many kilos does one day's work buy?

Example: in March, a goat sells for 60 and a kilo of millet costs 0.50, i.e. 120 kg. In June, the thin goat sells for 40 and millet costs 0.80, i.e. 50 kg. The herder's purchasing power has been more than halved: this is a major early warning signal, well before malnutrition appears.

3Designing a ration according to Sphere

For general food assistance, Sphere uses a baseline of 2,100 kcal per person per day, with 10 to 12% of energy from protein and 17% from fat, plus adequate micronutrients. The ration takes into account what households already have, food habits and cooking means.

Example daily ration: cereals 450 g (about 1,580 kcal), pulses 50 g (170 kcal), fortified oil 30 g (265 kcal), iodised salt 5 g, sugar 20 g (80 kcal), i.e. about 2,090 kcal. Per month, that is about 13.5 kg of cereals per person. Fortified flours (for example a corn-soya blend) improve micronutrient intake for vulnerable people.

4The minimum expenditure basket and the transfer value

The minimum expenditure basket (MEB) costs, at market prices, what a typical household needs each month: the food component (often the 2,100 kcal ration), then water, hygiene, energy, rent, transport, health. It is usually calculated and updated by the cash working group and the cluster.

The transfer value covers the gap between the MEB (or its targeted part) and what the household can cover itself. Example: food component of 120 for a household of 6, estimated own capacity of 40: the food transfer is worth 80. It is harmonised among partners, rounded to ease payment and revised if prices move by more than 10 to 15%.

Scenario

Setting the amount

Cash working group, regional capital

Your role

You represent your NGO at the working group.

The food MEB for a household of 6 is 120. One NGO proposes paying 120 to everyone, another 60. Cereal prices have risen 4% a month for three months.

  1. Decision 1 of 3How do you propose to set the amount?

  2. Decision 2 of 3The group adopts 80. How do you handle rising prices?

  3. Decision 3 of 3A donor asks why your amount is lower than the full MEB. You answer:

Exercise: from price to transfer

In an area, a kilo of cereals costs 0.60, pulses 1.20, oil 2.00 per litre, salt and sugar 0.80 per kilo. For a household of 6 and the example ration, calculate the monthly cost of the food component. Targeted households cover about 30% of their needs: propose the transfer value, its rounding, its frequency and the price-increase threshold that will trigger its revision.

Key points

  • Market monitoring: prices, availability, restocking times, access; compare with a reference.
  • Terms of trade: an early warning signal for herders and day labourers.
  • Sphere ration: 2,100 kcal per person per day, 10 to 12% protein, 17% fat.
  • Transfer value = gap between the MEB and the household's own capacity, harmonised at cluster level and revised with prices.

💼 Food security and livelihoods jobs

Put this course into practice: the latest jobs in this field.

See all 45 Food security and livelihoods jobs →

Prepare for the written test and interviewA model written test in this field, interview questions with sample answers and the STAR method.See the model test →
Further reading: course references
  1. Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: minimum standards in food security and nutrition. spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
  2. IPC Global Partnership (2021). IPC Technical Manual, Version 3.1. www.ipcinfo.org
  3. World Food Programme (2021). Consolidated Approach for Reporting Indicators of Food Security (CARI). www.wfp.org/publications/consolidated-approach-reporting-indicators-food-security-cari-guidelines
  4. WFP and FAO (2024). Global Food Security Cluster. fscluster.org
  5. LEGS Project (2023). Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS). www.livestock-emergency.net
  6. World Food Programme (2008). Food Consumption Score: guidance note (VAM). resources.vam.wfp.org
  7. FANTA / FHI 360 (2011). Household Hunger Scale (HHS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). www.fantaproject.org/monitoring-and-evaluation
  8. Food Economy Group, Save the Children (2008). The Practitioners' Guide to the Household Economy Approach. www.feg-consulting.com
  9. CILSS (2019). Cadre Harmonisé manual. www.cilss.int
  10. CaLP (2018). Minimum Standard for Market Analysis (MISMA). www.calpnetwork.org

Daily quiz

3 questions to check what you have learned. Answer them all to complete the day.

1A goat bought 120 kg of millet in March and 50 kg in June. This indicates:
2The energy baseline of a general ration according to Sphere is:
3The value of a food transfer in principle corresponds to:

← Day 4Day 6 →