FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops and Shortages 06/02 - NAMIBIA (3 June)
The output of the recently harvested 2002 coarse grains is estimated at 82 000 tonnes, 20 percent below the cereal crop of 2001. Insufficient rains at planting time sharply reduce the area sown to millet/sorghum and maize, while a dry spell in January adversely affected yields. Subsequent precipitation arrived too late to prevent yield reductions. The food supply situation is anticipated to remain tight in marketing year 2002/03 (May/April), particularly for farmers who gathered a poor harvest last year and for vulnerable groups in urban areas.