Speculators gain from the starving

Recent floods after a long drought have left more than 100,000 people homeless across the country and more than 300,000 children under the age of five are now suffering from acute malnutrition.

The Save The Children charity, which is working in three of the regions worst affected by the food crisis, said the underlying problem is not one of food availability but soaring prices.

While erratic rains and last year's failed harvest contributed to price rises, "a significant role" was being played by food traders, Save The Children said.

The charity's food security and livelihoods officer Josh Leighton said local and regional profiteers buy grain directly from farmers when it is plentiful and cheaper.

But they do not sell it on until May - months after the harvest - when the supply of grain in the country is at its most limited, Mr Leighton charged.

"Poor farmers find themselves buying back their own crops at highly inflated prices," he said.

The vast majority of Nigeriens are subsistence farmers, so they have no choice but to sell their grain as soon as it is harvested in September or October to raise money to live on as well as pay off debts for seeds and fertiliser.

By the time May comes, they are desperate for grain to feed their families.

Speculators are using market fluctuations to make a profit at the expense of ordinary people, Mr Leighton alleged.

Government and relief agencies raised the alert over the drought which also affected Chad, Mali and Nigeria as far back as November last year.

But donor states have been dragging their feet and UN agencies have called on the international community to deliver on its aid pledges.