Good rains, food prospects in coastal countries

FAO paints a mixed, but generally positive, picture of the food prospects of West Africa’s coastal countries in its latest Food Outlook, published this month. Rains in March in southern parts of the countries along the Gulf of Guinea permitted the planting of the first maize crop, while people were able to plant millet and sorghum when the rains reached the northern parts of the coastal countries in April. However, rainfall remained below average in early May over Nigeria. Paddy planting has started in several countries of the subregion, but has been hampered in Sierra Leone, where insecurity has prevented most activities in the critical planting period and the paddy harvest is expected to fall for the third consecutive year. By contrast, improved security in Liberia has enabled the execution of resettlement programmes and the distribution of basic inputs to farmers. In turn, Liberia’s agriculture sector is improving and the paddy output is expected to increase in 2000/1. In Nigeria, West Africa’s largest rice producer, the government reportedly eliminated a 25-percent fertilizer subsidy but it abolished import and value-added taxes on all agricultural inputs and since the country imports most of its fertilizers, the measure could lead to increased use. [For full report, see http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/fo/fo0006/FO00064.