An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission which visited the country from 19 August to 1 September has found that the secondary azmera season rains have totally failed and the main kremti season rains arrived late over most of the country. The current poor agricultural season could not have come at a worse time. The country has just started the recovery from a devastating border war with neighbouring Ethiopia. A large number of people, including farmers, are still displaced and thousands of soldiers are yet to be demobilised. Furthermore, the resettlement of Eritrean refugees that are returning from Sudan is a further strain on the country’s resources.
Against this adverse backdrop, the Mission forecast a cereal harvest of a mere 74 000 tonnes, nearly 60 percent below the average of the last 10 years. The poor rains have also had a serious impact on the country's livestock and drought-related livestock deaths were reported in several parts of the country. The cereal import requirement for the marketing year 2003 (January/December) is estimated at 413 000 tonnes. Reflecting the serious economic difficulties facing the country, only 20 percent of the requirement is anticipated to be covered commercially. With 60 000 tonnes of food aid expected by the end of 2002, the uncovered deficit, for which international assistance is required, is estimated at 273 000 tonnes. The Government of Eritrea has recently appealed for food assistance to nearly 1.4 million people.