FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 02/01 - THE GAMBIA (5 February)
Seasonably dry conditions prevail. A joint FAO/CILSS Crop Assessment Mission estimated the 2000 cereal production at a record 174 000 tonnes, representing an increase of about 12 percent compared to 1999 and 49 percent compared to the previous five years average.
Following two successive bumper crops in 1999 and 2000, the overall food supply situation is satisfactory. However, despite the increase in food production, two at-risk zones have been identified: Lower River Division (LRD) (Jarra East and Jarra Central) and Central River Division (CRD) North (all the five districts) which will gather poor crops due to blister beetles and striga infestations in the fields. Poor germination of groundnut seed due to high pest infestations at storage level also resulted in reduced groundnut production.
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