SAHEL WEATHER AND CROP SITUATION REPORT Global Information and Early Warning System on food and agriculture Report No.1 - 8 June 2001

THE RAINY SEASON HAS STARTED EARLY IN NIGER BUT IS DELAYED IN SOUTHERN CHAD

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You can also look at the film of the rainy season in Western Africa and the Sahel.

SUMMARY

The rainy season started in early April in the extreme south of Chad, in mid-April in southern Burkina Faso and Mali, in May in Niger and in early June in Guinea Bissau, the south-east of Senegal and the east of The Gambia. Seasonably dry conditions prevail in the rest of Senegal and The Gambia, Cape Verde, and Mauritania. This corresponds to the normal pattern in the Sahel, except for Niger where the onset of the rains is somewhat earlier than usual. In Chad, precipitation decreased significantly in late May in the south. Satellite imagery for the first dekad of June shows that rains started in Guinea Bissau and the south-east of Senegal but that the intensity of the rains did not increase in southern Chad.

Land preparation and plantings are in progress following the onset of the rains. Dry planting is also underway in Mauritania. Crops are emerging satisfactorily in southern Burkina Faso and Mali. Improved rains are needed in southern Chad. Seed availability problems are likely in some areas following below average harvests in 2000 in several countries.

The pest situation is calm. A few Desert Locusts were reported in mid-April in Mauritania and are likely to be present in Timetrine and Adrar des Iforas in Mali and in Aïr and Tamesna in Niger.

SITUATION BY COUNTRY

BURKINA FASO  CAPE-VERDE  CHAD  GAMBIA  GUINEA-BISSAU 
MALI  MAURITANIA  NIGER  SENEGAL