Area:
|
72 000 sq.km
|
Climate:
|
Mostly tropical wet-dry; extreme south tropical wet; one rainy season: March-October
|
Population:
|
4.67 million (1998 estimate); G.N.P. per caput: US$ 200 (1997)
|
Specific characteristics of the country:
|
Low-income food-deficit country; coastal country
|
Logistics:
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Roads inadequate
|
Major foodcrops:
|
Rice, roots and tubers
|
Marketing year:
|
January/December; Lean season: July-August
|
Share of cereals in total calorie intake:
|
57 percent
|
The food supply situation remains critical in Freetown, following recent escalation of violence. Some 117 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been registered at six locations in western Freetown and limited food distributions are underway. Severe food and fuel shortages are reported and most traders and importers have left Freetown. Aid agencies' warehouses in Freetown have been looted and humanitarian aid distributions remain very limited. If insecurity continues, most scheduled rehabilitation activities, including seed and tool distribution and technical assistance, will be delayed or remain limited. As a result, agricultural production in the coming season, starting in May, is likely to be reduced.
Fighting in the east, notably in Bo, Kenema, Koidu and Makeni in late 1998 and early 1999 has severely disrupted food distribution in these areas and caused large population displacements. UNHCR estimates that there are currently around 350 000 internally displaced people in the country, most of them in Kenema, Bo (the second city of Sierra Leone) and in the western border area of Kambia. Pockets of acute food shortage are located in these areas where insecurity prevents humanitarian activities.
Despite favourable conditions, the area planted in 1998 is estimated to have been substantially lower than in 1997 due to insecurity, and estimates point to a cereal output of about 400 000 tonnes, which is about 15 percent lower. Sierra Leone's cereal import requirement for 1999 is estimated at 290 000 tonnes, including 140 000 tonnes of food aid.
|
Wheat
|
Rice
|
Coarse grains
|
Total
| |
|
Normal Production
|
-
|
390
|
57
|
447
|
Normal Imports
|
60
|
110
|
15
|
185
|
of which: Structural food aid
|
40
|
10
|
15
|
65
|
|
1999 Domestic Availability
|
-
|
210
|
53
|
263
|
1998 Production (rice in paddy terms)
|
-
|
350
|
53
|
403
|
1998 Production (rice in milled terms)
|
-
|
210
|
53
|
263
|
Possible stock drawdown
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1999 Utilization
|
100
|
350
|
103
|
553
|
Food Use
|
94
|
280
|
93
|
467
|
of which: local purchase requirement
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Non-food use
|
-
|
70
|
10
|
80
|
Exports or Re-exports
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Possible stock build up
|
6
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
|
1999 Import Requirement
|
100
|
140
|
50
|
290
|
Anticipated commercial imports
|
40
|
110
|
-
|
150
|
Food aid needs
|
60
|
30
|
50
|
140
|
|
Current Aid Position
|
||||
Food aid pledges
|
8
|
12
|
8
|
28
|
of which: Delivered
|
5
|
-
|
8
|
13
|
Donor-financed purchases
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
of which: for local use
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
for export
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Estimated Per Caput Consumption (kg/Year)
|
20
|
60
|
20
|
100
|
Indexes
|
||||
1998 production as % of normal:
|
90
| |||
1999 import requirement as % of normal:
|
157
| |||
1999 food aid requirement as % of normal:
|
215
|
