One of the most important findings was that there had been a proliferation of small and micro-businesses opening between 2011 and 2015, as other sources of livelihoods dried up and community members turned to self-employment in order to survive the war. However, this economic adaptation has generally not been supported by the ‘top down’ provision of humanitarian aid, with many missed opportunities, and a general failure to support existing capacities and efforts of community members. This has resulted in increasing levels of local economic dependency, with many local farmers and market vendors unable to compete against the ‘free’ food that was being provided, and then re-sold on the market.
Research results clearly indicated a need to support small and micro-businesses along the entire value chain—accompanied by unconditional vouchers or cash transfers for the most vulnerable community members.