Area:
|
28 000 sq.km
|
Climate:
|
Tropical wet-dry; one rainy season: May-October
|
Population:
|
1.13 million (1998 estimate); G.N.P. per caput: US$ 240 (1997)
|
Specific characteristics of the country:
|
Low-income food-deficit country; coastal country
|
Logistics:
|
Port capacity being improved; roads inadequate, particularly during the rainy season; river transport important
|
Major foodcrops:
|
Rice, coarse grains, oils and fats, roots and tubers
|
Marketing year:
|
November/October; Lean season: May-August
|
Share of cereals in total calorie intake:
|
64 percent
|
Resurgence of fighting in Bissau, the capital, on 31 January, caused damage to infrastructure and renewed population displacements. The conflict started in the capital in June 1998, at the beginning of the growing season, and spread to others towns. It seriously disrupted the land preparation and planting activities and the distribution of inputs to farmers. About 400 000 people, almost 80 percent of the capital's population, fled their homes to the rural regions of Cacheu, Biombo and Quinara, and to the coastal islands or neighbouring Senegal and Guinea Conakry. A cease-fire agreement signed in Praia on 26 July allowed partial resumption of field activities but the fighting resumed in October, disrupting the harvesting of some crops and normal field activities on others. An agreement to end hostilities was signed in Abuja, Nigeria, on 1 November but fighting erupted again in late January.
No crop assessment mission could be undertaken due to insecurity. Satellite imagery indicated that rainfall was generally above average in August and September allowing a satisfactory desalination of swamp rice fields. FAO estimates the 1998 cereal production at 120 000 tonnes compared to 174 000 tonnes in 1997, a decrease of 31 percent, and about one third less than the average of the last five years. The food supply situation improved with the harvesting of rice in late 1998, but recent fighting caused new population displacements.
|
Wheat
|
Rice
|
Coarse grains
|
Total
| |
|
Normal Production
|
-
|
117
|
62
|
179
|
Normal Imports
|
7
|
60
|
-
|
67
|
of which: Structural food aid
|
1
|
3
|
-
|
4
|
|
1998/99 Domestic Availability
|
-
|
58
|
49
|
107
|
1998 Production (rice in paddy terms)
|
-
|
80
|
40
|
120
|
1998 Production (rice in milled terms)
|
-
|
53
|
40
|
93
|
Possible stock drawdown
|
-
|
5
|
9
|
14
|
|
1998/99 Utilization
|
7
|
128
|
75
|
210
|
Food Use
|
7
|
114
|
58
|
180
|
of which: local purchase requirement
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Non-food use
|
-
|
9
|
16
|
25
|
Exports or Re-exports
|
-
|
5
|
-
|
5
|
Possible stock build up
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1998/99 Import Requirement
|
7
|
70
|
15
|
92
|
Anticipated commercial imports
|
5
|
50
|
-
|
55
|
Food aid needs
|
2
|
20
|
15
|
37
|
|
Current Aid Position
|
||||
Food aid pledges
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
3
|
of which: Delivered
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
3
|
Donor-financed purchases
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
of which: for local use
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
for export
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Estimated Per Caput Consumption (kg/Year)
|
6
|
101
|
51
|
158
|
Indexes
|
||||
1998 production as % of normal:
|
67
| |||
1998/99 import requirement as % of normal:
|
137
| |||
1998/99 food aid requirement as % of normal:
|
925
|
