Western region increases crop production

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, initial rough estimates show that cereal crop production in Debub Region, western Eritrea, will be almost twice as much as last year. The World Food Programme (WFP) emergency report of 10 August said data submitted by the ministry showed that about 80,000 mt would be produced, which would be almost double the production last year when the border war with Ethiopia was still in progress. However, as a result of continuous heavy rains and hailstorms in the region over the past two weeks, more than 6,000 hectares of cultivable land and 50 hectares of vegetable garden had been heavily damaged, the WFP report said. It said road conditions had continued to deteriorate throughout the country due to the rains. The western region - described by humanitarian agencies as the breadbasket of Eritrea - was badly affected by population displacement and the presence of Ethiopian troops last year.