FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/01 - GUINEA (11 June)
First rains were registered in the south in late March, and subsequently covered the entire country in May, allowing land preparation and first plantings. Reflecting a good harvest in 1999 and a record crop in 2000, the overall food supply situation is satisfactory and markets are generally well supplied, except in the south-east where rebel incursions from Sierra Leone have severely affected agriculture and marketing activities.
There are more than 400 000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone and about 150 000 IDPs in the country. About 57 000 Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees have been relocated from the Parrot's Beak, a stretch of Guinean territory which has been and is likely to remain the scene of military operations by various armed groups. New refugee camps have been established in the Dabola and Albadaria prefectures to relocate refugees.
At the same time, the voluntary repatriation of those who wish to return to Sierra Leone is facilitated. A transit camp has been established in Conakry to organise repatriation of refugees by boat to Freetown where reception facilities are available. Since September 2000, more than 55 000 Sierra Leoneans have returned from Guinea.