FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 10/00 - CHAD (15 September)
Crop development is satisfactory in the Sudanian zone but unfavourable in the Sahelian zone. Following well distributed and generally above-average rains in July, notably during the third dekad, precipitation remained adequate during August in the Sudanian and the Sudano- Sahelian zones but below average in the Sahelian zone. Precipitation remained abundant in early September except in the east of the Sahelian zone. Coarse grain crops are growing satisfactorily in the Sudanian zone. By contrast, in the Sahelian zone, where millet and sorghum are tillering/elongating, more rains are needed to meet water needs at this critical phase of their development.
Pastures are abundant both in the Sahelian and Sudanian zones. Grasshopper attacks have been reported in ChariBaguirmi, Lac and Ouadda� regions. Grain eating birds caused some damage to millet and maize in Gu�ra prefecture (in Mangalm� area). No Desert Locusts activity is reported while some Migratory Locusts have been seen in Ati area along the Batha river. A joint FAO/CILSS Crop Assessment Mission is scheduled in October to estimate 2000 cereal production .
Following an above-average harvest in 1999, the overall food supply situation is satisfactory. Farmers have replenished stocks for the second consecutive year or sold cereals to compensate for low cotton incomes and poor groundnut production. As a result, prices of cereals remained mostly stable during the lean season and were lower than in previous years in both Sudanian and Sahelian zones. However, they seasonably started to increase in August in some areas. In August, WFP launched a food aid distribution for about 150 000 persons in the Sahelian zone. The cereal import requirement for the 1999/2000 marketing year is estimated at 67 000 tonnes, including 12 000 tonnes of food aid.
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