ANGOLA (13 February)
Near-normal rains at the start of the 2003/04 agricultural season have resulted in a fair crop emergence in most of the grain producing areas of the country. However, with subsequent erratic and generally insufficient precipitation, and heavy downpours in late-January that caused flooding in riverbeds, crop growth has been less than satisfactory in the southern and central parts of the country where the main maize growing areas are located. Cassava areas in the northern and eastern parts of the country are expected to perform better. At this stage the overall crop prospects for the season are uncertain. Nearly 2 million farmers were targeted for emergency agricultural assistance.
With the improvement in the security situation, large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees have returned to their areas of origin. Even though the 2003 cereal output was above average, it can meet only half of the country’s total cereal requirements. The recent Vulnerability Analysis conducted by WFP points to about 1.2 million vulnerable people with more than 500 000 of them currently food insecure and need immediate food assistance.