Weather and crop situation

The rainy season started under generally favourable conditions this year in the Sahel but reduced rains in June threaten seedlings in parts of the subregion, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says in a just released report. The season started generally on time - even early in southern Senegal - and there was above normal rains in early to mid-May, according to the ‘Sahel Weather and Crop Situation 1999’ report for the first half of the year. However, the rains decreased significantly in early June in the centre and the east of the Sahel, according to the report, issued on 16 June by the FAO Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (FAO/GIEWS) By contrast, in the west, they progressed northwards over Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau. In Mali, the rainy season started in April in the extreme south and moved northwards in May. In Burkina Faso, rains started in mid-April, became widespread and were generally above normal over the south and the centre up to mid-May, but they decreased significantly in early June, according to the report. Similarly, precipitation was widespread over southern Niger and Chad in May but decreased in early June. Seasonably dry conditions prevailed in Cape Verde, northern Senegal and Mauritania, according to FAO/GIEWS. The report added that land preparation and planting were in progress following the onset of the rains, and crops were emerging satisfactorily in Burkina Faso, southern Chad and Mali although reduced rains in early June threatened recently planted crops, notably in Burkina Faso. Efforts were underway to control grain-eating birds reported in Chad, Mali and Niger, while rodents were sighted following plantings in Niger. Isolated desert locusts were reported in Mauritania, and low numbers are expected in the summer breeding areas of the Sahel once seasonal rains begin. However, no significant developments are expected.