Highest food harvest in five years expected

The 2002 food outlook for Chad is good, due mainly to steady rainfall last year, the Food Early Warning System (FEWS) reported on Tuesday. It said that sorghum yields were expected to be the highest in five years. "The food situation is good throughout most of the country," FEWS said. "The pre-harvest assessment of crops for the 2001-02 growing season is one of the best in five years. Grazing conditions are satisfactory." At least 140, 600 metric tons of sorghum, the main cereal used in Chad, are expected at the end of the harvest season, the report said, adding that the potential for expanding acreage existed. Kanem and Logone, two regions in the west and east respectively that were hit by floods last year, posted good harvests, while water for grazing animals was generally available except in the Sahelian regions in the north and Mayo Boneye in the south, the report added. The full report, produced by FEWS and Chad's Office of Water Resources and Meteorological Services can be found on http://www.fews.net/