New Publication: “MARKit: Price monitoring, analysis and response kit”

Understanding how local, national and international markets function is a critical step in designing effective food assistance programs. Monitoring market conditions during the life of a program can help managers identify whether changes in the supply or demand for food commodities risks further escalating ongoing price increases, and it can help to identify strategies to mitigate price impacts. Unfortunately, many programs lack the capacity and processes to analyze and act on price information.

The purpose of the toolkit, available online in English, is to help food assistance programs maximize their effectiveness and maintain the principle of “do no harm” standards by mitigating unintended impacts on market systems. It is intended for use in both emergency and development contexts. The toolkit is accompanied by a worksheet, a workbook with sample database and a sample report. The materials should be used in conjunction to have a full understanding of implementing MARKit.

MARKit represents a collaboration among members of the Local and Regional Procurement (LRP) Learning Alliance, and with initial funding from USAID/ TOPS through a grant with CARE and CRS.  This current version was refined and completed by CRS with input from many organizations; it has undergone an external peer review, and has been tested and improved thanks to CRS/ Eastern DRC, CRS/ Niger, CRS/ Turkey, and now others including CRS/ Mauritania and CRS/ Iraq. It’s intended to be a living document, and input is very welcome to improve future versions.

To download the toolkit and accompanied material please click here.

Main image: Kieran Doherty/Oxfam