SOMALIA* (2 June)
In Somalia, early prospects for the main “gu” cereal crops which accounts for some 70 to 80 percent of the annual production in normal years is reported to be mixed following heavy rains and floods on the one hand and localized dry conditions on the other.
The output of the recently harvested secondary “deyr” season cereal crop is estimated at about 164 600 tonnes, nearly 80 percent above the post-war (1995-2001) average. The total cereal production in 2002/03 is therefore estimated at about 376 000 tonnes, about 35 percent above the post-war average. The food supply situation in southern Somalia has generally improved with better “gu” and “deyr” harvests, but nutrition surveys indicate persistently high malnutrition rates. In north-western Somalia (Somaliland) and north-eastern Somalia (Puntland), severe water and food shortages are still reported despite improved rainfall. The shortages are most acute in the regions of Togdheer, Sool, Sanaag and the Hawd, as well as in several districts of Bari and parts of Nugal Region.