Rains in most of the Sahel, GIEWS says

The rainy season is now well established in the Sahelian countries except Chad, the UN’s Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) reported on 11 July. Crop planting is now in progress following the onset of the rains. In Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal, crops are growing satisfactorily, but erratic rains in Chad are likely to cause water stress in areas recently planted and in some cases, re-planting may be necessary, GIEWS reported. Pastures in the region are starting to regenerate and the pest situation is mostly calm. Ecological conditions have become favourable for desert locusts breeding from southeastern Mauritania to Niger, but as locust numbers are now extremely low, they will take a long time to build up to significant levels, GIEWS said. Countries in the Sahel region include Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.